You Are Our Hope
by leomonta
Summary: All I wanted to do was live. I never asked for any of this. Now I'm stuck having to deal with a war between the Garo and Ikanans. Something I couldn't care less about, while I SHOULD be looking for Aryll and Colin. And I thought being an orphan was bad . Pft. My life is just beginning to be bad. Rated T for Potty mouths and some blood. (Set in Slightly Au Majora Mask w/ my OC Link)
1. Death

**So, welcome to my first fanfic. YAY... Anyway, this story follows my own OC Link who goes on his own adventure and stuff. There will be a few character bring overs, but the story is set some long time before Majora's Mask. Back in a time when the Ikanans where still at war with the Garo. The Termina here is not a parallel Hyrule but a distant country. Dark Link here is not from Ocarina, but my own DL, so yeh. Continue reading please.  
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**Darkness Eats At The Heart - Ch****1**

Sweat trickled across my brow, and I moved slightly to wipe it away. In front of me stood a large, burly man, who had at least two heads height on me, but he provided exactly what I needed. A place to hid. And when inanimate objects wouldn't do the trick, people worked just fine too.

He was arguing profusely with the stall attendant, and to my advantage, luring the stall attendant's and pretty much everyone's attention in to listen in on the argument. I had to hand it to the man; even with his stature, he had quite the way with words. I used the moment's distraction to slide my way over to the merchandise part of the stand.

Inside various crates, was a multitude of fluffy baked breads. Some fresh out of the oven, still steaming, others I noticed began to harden. I took a hard look at the piece that was about to become my next prey. A slightly cold piece that looked about four to five hours old. Not delicious, but it would suffice, and wouldn't cause the merchant much of a loss in terms of money. After all, if it hadn't managed to make its way into someone's hands already, it wasn't about to do so now.

Another glance slithered its way back to the burly man and the merchant. He was still making some cogent points about the bread prices along with some wild hand gestures to boot. I returned my wandering gaze back to the bread, and with a sigh, I slipped my hand out from under my cloak, and took hold of it.

With the bread safely in my possession under my cloak, along with my stockpile of other stolen food stuffs, I shifted my way through the crowd of bystanders and shoppers until the stall was out of earshot and out of sight. I didn't stay any longer in the midst of the string of markets, and swiftly worked my way back home. Staying any longer meant people would start to recognize me and that could jeopardise my means of survival...there were still a few guards who always seemed to have my face on their list however. It seemed in my years of thievery I had become an infamous child delinquent. I swiveled my through sparse groups of on-goers, and snuck through a few back alleys.

It wasn't long until I stopped in front of a half broken down pile of what used to be, I believed, a school. It was located along the edge of the bordering mountains surrounding Ikana. From the looks of it I would say the Garo blew it up on one of their attacks. From what I could tell, the Garo's main line of thought seemed be either: assassinate the king or bomb crowded areas. And what no one ever seemed to notice, was that, little by little, their attacks penetrated our defenses and cost us more lives every time. Our King has made no noticeable changes in the line of defense, and I could only ponder what they were deciding about at meetings.

Carefully, I found my way through rubble and rubbish. I halted my bumpy travels so I could climb through one of the broken windows near the left side. I squeezed my supplies a bit closer to my chest while I jogged through the dilapidated corridors. My bare feet scrapped across a few pebbles and some unnoticeable shards of glass. Looked like I was in for another trip sweeping the halls again. I didn't want Colin or Aryll to hurt themselves on the sharp ground. They suffered enough, already having to deal with hunger on a very familiar level.

Strobe lights, penetrated through leaks in the ceiling as I rounded the corner. The life of an orphan was difficult enough here in Ikana. In fact, had I not chosen to escape my empty house, it was likely we would have become slaves.

At first, it was just Aryll and me who lived here after my mother and father died because of the war. We were underage at the time, and had no close relatives to take us in. We would have become slaves, where we would work to pay for the new "home". But Aryll would not have even had that luxury because she was just a little girl at the time. They would have killed her, had they the chance, and I wasn't about to let that happen. This was the place I found, and it has been our home ever since.

Two years ago though, a young boy about Aryll's age, named Colin, managed to shuffle his way in here as well after his parents too, had been murdered in one of the raids. I never quite caught his full story, but I wasn't one to ask to many questions anyway. I didn't think Aryll minded the company either. She would have probably befriended an ant if she had the chance.

I've been doing my best to support them by stealing when and what I can, but I have thought about it, and I didn't think my career as a thief was going to last much longer. The guards haven't been turning a blind eye to my antics like they were before, and it wouldn't be long before I wound up thrown in jail. And I couldn't let that happen. I didn't know what I would do, knowing there would be no one to look after Aryll and Colin.

Through my reminiscing, I arrived at the empty classroom we designated as our main living area. Stools and what might have been the remains of desks, stood piled one on the other until we created a formation resembling a table...Well, we tried. Probably.

Aryll stood on top of the table, stick in hand, and was jabbing at something hiding on one of the wooden ceiling beams. The hard glare that came through the windows opposite made me unable to fully view my surroundings,so I was unable to ascertain what she was poking at.

I walked up to the table's jagged edge and proceeded with placing my stolen goods on the wood. Aryll took notice of the sudden sound and spun around. She looked a bit frightful at first, maybe fearing a ReDead had snuck its way inside, but the looked immediately cooled when she saw me.

Her, face brightened, and she put her actions on hold and raced towards me. I was about to greet her, but she took sudden hold of my arm and dragged back near her original spot at the center of the table.

"LinkLinkLink!" She wailed at me, pointing frantically at something above us," There's a cat. In the rafters! I've been trying to help it down for the past hour, but I think it's stuck,"Her jolly facial features had shifted into a look of concern just as quickly as they came.

I looked up, and sure enough, I finally noticed the gold flecked, glowing eyes peering right back at me. I was nearly positive the cat would climb back down, given some space, but Aryll's worried expression told me she wouldn't stand there and not help. I smiled inwardly at Aryll's innocence, and began carrying a stool back to my position atop the table.

I stood on the stool and reached for the cat...and stretched my arm a bit...maybe I made a groan or two. Not quite sure if I wanted to recall. I did a mental sigh. Being short had its advantages, but not in cases like these. I couldn't reach the cat, and when I turned back to Aryll to relay my results she was holding back a chuckle. I decided not to say anything.

I resorted to different tactics. They mainly included attempts at coaxing the cat towards me. Soft purring sounds escaped my lips, and I gave my best innocent look. Not quite sometime I excelled at, I'd admit. As an crook, I've done many thing I'm not proud of and seen many things I wish I could unsee. It was hard pretending to be innocent in a time where life was so difficult. But the fact was, I was living a life where every day was a ball of stress, just tumbling around my head, never truly dissipating. _I was way to young for this,_ I thought, _and this cat was not helping my life at the moment either._

After around five minutes of embarrassing _kitty kitty kitty _noises, the sleek black cat gave in and sauntered its way towards my hand. "Finally," I breathed, and I stretched my hand a little further out only to have my face used as a landing pad. The crafty bastard clawed its way down my spine and bolted straight for an open window. It stopped for a moment, the glaring sunset behind the dark feline's body left nothing but glowing eyes staring straight at me. The gaze only lasted a few moments before it quickly leaped into the cooling afternoon.

I stood where I was, slightly irked, but swiftly resumed my previous passive nature. A cat scratching my face was the least of my problems.

"So," I stated casually, directing my gaze back at Aryll, " Um, foo-you already started eati-and you already finished eating? That was. Uh. Fast..."

Bread crumbs floated around on her small lips and faded blue dress. Her hands had swiftly made a retreat behind her back while she shifted weight between feet and looked around nervously, " I...the uh...cat. Yes! The cat took off with it when...you...where uh..? Blinking. I barely even realized what was going on because he was so fast,"Aryll declared her last statement with confidence. I only stood there quietly, slightly wondering how long her composure would last, but she gave in relatively soon, " Ooh, I saved yours and Colin's's share...Come on~...don't be angry," she twiddled her fingers about before continuing," Mmm...say something."

I chuckled quietly. Her innocence was so cute, I only wished it would stay that way for the remainder of her childhood, "It's alright. I would have done the same thing," smiling, I patted her and gathered myself near the food. I divvied up the remaining food into three proportional piles...Well, Aryll's had a bit less since she already claimed most of hers. I noticed our third family member hadn't yet appeared.

"Hey, big brother, how was today!? Did you meet a princess yet? Maybe the Great Fairy showed up?" Aryll bounced up down energetically waving her arms around in big gestures to indicate the Great Fairy's enormous size. Sadly though, she hasn't shown up in many years and the people have begun to believe they might actually by eternally damned by the gods. Personally, I didn't care. No god has ever helped me or my family. Though it would be nice if they showed their face every once in a while.

I answered Aryll's question with a mix of my own disappointment in it, "No. Sorry. No Fairies. No princesses. Sadly. But, anyways, Aryll, where is Colin?" I inquired. Aryll seemed to miss a step in time and it resulted with a bitten tongue.

"He's ab de uh, badroom...szill. Yeah," she pulled the same pellucid face she had tried earlier and glanced to her right once.

I followed her gaze to the window, and outside, just a bit further was the city limits. I sighed, "Aryll. You know. You're a terrible liar," no response,"It shows on your face," that caused her to flinched but she recoiled and stood up taller, standing only a little less than a head shorter than I was," He's outside. Right?...just keep the bugs away from the food. Kay?"

Aryll noticeably relaxed, exhaling a large breath. I was fairly certain Colin went down to the graveyard again. I really wished he would stop doing that. Why didn't he realize the ReDead down there are dangerous?

"Um, big brother. Could you not tell Colin?" She stated quietly," I kinda promised him I wouldn't tell you where he was..."

"Alright," I nodded and headed back in to the corridor, "Though, I'm serious about the food. I'm still hungry," I heard Aryll shout a gleeful goodbye, returning to her normal cheerful self, as I picked up a jogging pace towards the graveyard.

The blazing ball of fire that provided light had just about set over the dingy graveyard. The place had been abruptly shut down after the massive appearance of ReDead crawling out of their graves. The war between the Garo and us produced innumerable losses, and most were promptly buried here in their graves. But not even two days later, people were chased out of the graveyard by masses of ReDead. People soon stopped trying to bury their deceased and instead opted to get rid of the body. They tried to burn them but the regretful souls just became Poes. No matter what they did, they weren't able to rid themselves of the infestation. Some people even opposed it because they believed their loved ones were still "in there". Now they just dumped the dead bodies here, where they could relive however they wanted. I didn't know what exactly happened when you die around here, but few souls remain sane enough to reason after death.

I wanted to reach the boy before dark, when the Poes came out. Often, after losing their bodies, the Poes were able to concentrate more on thinking than supporting bodily functions. Poes often stayed by their bodies, but it didn't mean they wouldn't attack someone if they thought it would quell their regrets. Surely Colin knew it was dangerous to be around the dead during this generation? After all, we all grew up with it as a potent part of our lives.

When I arrived Colin was sitting with his knees cuddled close on a cliff that overlooked the graveyard. A cool breeze swept past, chilling my skin and signifying the start of a cold night. When I approached, he gave me an acknowledging mumble, but otherwise his constant attention remained on the moans and sparkling Poe lanterns emanating from below. I knew what this was about. He became like this occasionally when he remembered his parents.

"Colin," I began and he looked up at me, I could barely make out his features in the darkness. We needed to get going soon but I didn't want to push him," Your parents. They weren't buried here. You won't be able to find them here, you know.

"I know Link. I know, it's just...I'm not strong like you. I can't seem to forget about my parents. And I know they died but, nowadays _everybody_ comes back from the the dead. So you know, maybe they're still out there...I don't know. Maybe as a Poe or something. Just, you know..." He let out a big sigh.

"Yes... I know. I haven't seen my parent's reanimation either. But...I do like to think, that, their souls were lucky enough to escape this curse. And that, they were able to the ascend into the afterlife. Like they're supposed to," At least that was what I wanted to believe. The more likely truth was that their souls are wandering throughout Termina, forever to remain as part of the dead.

"I hope so," and with that he gathered himself and stood up," Hey, thanks for not getting mad. I know it's dangerous to be out at night, but..."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook my head. No matter how much I wanted to protect him, I knew just how much people sometimes need time to themselves. I was one who knew that well.

"Come on. Let's go. I brought back some food. It's back home."

We walked the rest of the way back to the school grounds in silence. It wasn't a very long walk, and was a semi-enjoyable hike through a moonlit dark with warm house fires lit in the farther parts of the city. The part mostly owned by middle and upper class. Wax candles weren't expensive, but it was still a luxury we couldn't afford.

Aryll didn't meet us at the entrance, but instead waited for us in the same large classroom I was in before. She was sitting on the window sill swinging her legs against the creaking wood, humming a soothing melody to go along with the beat. She finally noticed us and happily jumped off of her perch and bounded towards us.

"Big brother! Colin! You guys are back!"

Colin waved shyly back and calmly proceeded towards the table. I followed Colin's actions and started helping my self to a more than stale bite of bread. Aryll joined us at the table but instead of eating, she regained the previous action of swinging her legs over the table's edge.

Of the three people in the room, Aryll was really the only talkative one. Colin and I were both grateful there was always someone who was able to break the ominous silence a run down school provided. However Aryll was quiet this time, which was a little strange. She looked deep and thought. I didn't want to interrupt her train of thought, so I sat down next to Colin on the opposite. The two of us sat quietly, simply enjoying each others company.

Aryll broke the silence first," Hey, Big brother...do you think we could visit Great Bay sometime? I wanna go places! Plus, this nice lady told me there's big white birds there that don't live here," so that was what she was contemplating about, "So? Do you think we can? Preferably, I dunno, like, this week?"

"Whoa. Slow down. The Great Bay is far. Maybe a few days far even," I laughed, but I did give it some serious thought. It _has _been my dream to sail the vast sea and reach new places. Hyrule was mainly where I wanted to go, the home of our ancestors. Termina had long since lost all contact with its neighboring county until it was now just an unspoken name. The mysterious place seemed to be beckoning me from where ever it hid. Surly if we left Ikana, anything could be better than living off of stolen food scraps and in a dilapidated building I thought optimistically. Nothing worse came to mind.

"Link," It was Colin this time, "I think the Great Bay sounds pretty cool."

So Colin wanted to go too? Now I knew we were all pretty much thinking the same thing. A new start. I wasn't about to say no, but I couldn't say yes either. We were orphans, dirt poor. A boat and passport was far beyond any profits I'd be able to scrounge up. That left us with stealth and a lot of walking.

"We can't go back. If we go."

"Did we have to?" She almost sounded disgusted.

"Colin. Are you alright with this?" He just stayed quiet and gazed at some broken floorboards, "We'll have to sneak past the border. Once over. There won't be a chance to return. Patrol will be to tight. They'll probably mistake us for an invading Garo...," Was I too harsh? He still wasn't answering. He showed interest before. Why not now? Was it because his parent might still be wandering about?

"I don't mind if we can't come back. After all, there so many other things that I can do, so I won't even have time to feel sad," she proclaimed. Aryll and I had since long forgotten our family's death, but Colin was another story. His parents passed away not even two years ago and he was still unable to move on. Moving now might break his heart temporarily, but I was beginning to think we didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Unless I was about to let Colin and Aryll grow up and become juvenile thieves like I had, than something needed to change.

"I-I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure if I actually want to leave forever," he finally replied.

"But, you'll have fun! We always make the best of situations. I'm sure if we leave we'll have an awesomer time than now," Aryll threw her hand in the air and waved them around looking a bit idiotic, like she was on a sugar rush.

"I know Aryll. It's just, I've been here my whole life, and to just up and leave is kinda...weird. Maybe you guys don't have anything you want here, but _I_ still miss my parents."

"Colin, Big Brother and me miss our mom and dad too but we know we won't see them again. And we've accepted that," Aryll wrapped a comforting arm around Colin's thin body in a light embrace,"Colin's parents are the same."

My socially awkwardness left me a bit envious of Aryll's innate ability of dealing with people. I wished I could have helped comfort Colin, but I felt my abilities might still have left him sad.

Colin exhaled a deep breath and looked at both Aryll and me. I gave him a slight smile which was outdone by Aryll's bright, ear to ear grin. Again I wished I could've been as socially adept,"I'm sorry," he breathed,"I kinda said too much. Link," he looked straight at me, I would've diverted my gaze like I normally did when people spoke to me, but this was one of those moments that needed eye contact," I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet if it means I can't come back. But. I think eventually I will."

I gave him a confirming nod and placed my hand on his head and tousled his dirty blonde locks, " It's fine, I understand," I assured him."Why don't we go to bed now, then?"

"What? Why! We just started talking."

"The moon is high. That means sleep. You can wake up as early as you want Aryll."

"But...if we sleep...then we can't...listen to the pretty crickets chirping?" She tried, but to no avail.

"Sorry Aryll, but I'm with Link, I'm tired. It's been a long day." She instantly deflated but didn't press the issue.

My only family stood up and retreated to a old, dusty, lilac couch we had dragged in and surrounded with the rest of our few possessions. They crawled under a light blanket together and huddled close for warmth. Nights in Ikana Canyon tended to get rather chilly in comparison to the heated day. Currently the stiff couch multipurposed as a couch in the day and bed at night because there wasn't much other furniture in our occupied classroom.

Aryll popped her head out from under the cloth and asked me if I was going join them or not. When I told her I planned on staying up a little later she replied with "Cheater" and stuffed her head back where warmth flowed. Leaving me to solemnly stare out at the still active, city night.

* * *

The night pasted uneventfully. I watched as most of the city lights began to flicker off, and the crickets hummed a mesmerizing melody. I sat up on the window sill, unable to fall asleep. Aryll and Colin fell asleep a few hours ago, but my insomnia wouldn't leave. Quite a few things ran through my mind. Mainly about the earlier conversation. If Colin decided to change his mind, that left me to formulate a plan of escape. Ikana wouldn't let just anyone out, only those who had an expensive passport. The price of those had skyrocketed because of the war because many people wanted to escape. Escape not only the deaths but also the rising amount of ReDeads that seemed to be directly proportionate to the war.

No one knew for sure why anyone born in Ikana was cursed with a higher chance of being revived as a ReDead. Normally souls only lingered when they had an abnormally strong regret left in life. Our scientists, from what I heard, were studying this bizarre occurrence but discovered little to nothing. I was pretty sure the war started around fifty years ago, but it wasn't until recent years that nearly everyone who died revived as a ReDead, or Poe if the body was inaccessible. Those years had been the bloodiest of the war. Day after day, the Garo bombed our city, ending countless lives. We sent troops out into the mountains to search for the Garo's headquarters, only to never return.

I remembered the day after one of their bombs. People were running around screaming like maniacs, all running from the source of the explosion. I was six at the time, and hid behind my mother's ruffled skirt hem, my newly born sister Aryll tucked tightly to my mother's bosom. We watched in the sidelines, my mother and I wearing confused and scared expressions.

As the stampede dispersed we were able to see the mangled remains of a shopping district. Bits of rubble thrown into buildings and spewed across scorched earth. Tens of singed bodies littered the used-to-be-lively place. Normally the guards rushed to the scene to clean up the bodies, but something kept them at bay. The few guards that arrived on scene stood stone still, pointing their swords at the unmoving bodies. My mother and I stared in silence and shock, but soon we realized the guards' actions.

The bodies slowly began to rise from their slumber. Some, whose bodies were unusable, detached themselves from it and became a physical manifestation of their souls. What we now called a Poe. My mother understood what was happening and immediately dragged my sister and me back home, away from the undead. I understood now that if we stayed, there was a good chance we would have been attacked.

As we ran away from the scene, I noticed sweat gather around my mother's face and dripping into her eyes. She paid it no heed as she huffed her way through dry, dusty streets and the occasional straggler who hadn't fled. When we arrived home she immediately released my hand, slammed the door shut and locked it. She brought multiple chairs up next to the door along with some heavy weights. Our living room looked rather plain now that a large percentage of furniture was pressed against the door.

During the time, I had absolutely no idea what just happened in that span of five to fifteen minutes, and my mother's sudden embrace didn't help. She breathed hard and her face was flustered, but her hug made me feel safe. I could feel Aryll moving around in her wrap situated between my mother and me, probably gasping for a bit more air. I think I should have been surprised Aryll didn't start crying during the entire episode, but that was Aryll. Nearly nothing could bring her down.

That night my mother whispered some ominous words in my ear, "Link. Know that no matter what happens I'll always love you. And know that your father loved you just as much as I do. And if anything happens to me I want you to take good care of Aryll and yourself. And remember, we'll always be with you. In life and in death," she kissed me on my forehead and hugged me once more.

It was only after that did I learn what made my mother run so hard that night, and why my father never returned home.

My mother never returned home one night a few years later, and it's been just Aryll and me until Colin came along.

I glanced back at the two's sleeping form, I heard soft breathing noises coming from underneath the blanket. I hoped dearly that nothing would ever come between my family and I. I wasn't sure if I could take someone else in my life disappearing.

My eyes had started to fall, and I figured it was time to sleep. I guess there was no point in mulling over things that were out of my control. I crawled onto the couch with Aryll and Colin and put a long day behind me. Besides, I had more relevant things to worry about. Like waking up early tomorrow and finding food for the three of us.

* * *

Dawn cracked through holes in the ceiling, and I trudged my way up through drowsiness. Through the night Aryll had found her way to floor, at least most of it. Her legs still hung over the cushion and her head rested in a awkwardly bent position. I felt a bit bad. That was going to hurt when she woke up, and Colin continued to sleep comfortably in the middle of the couch with the entirety of the blanket wrapped around himself. The poor kid never did realize he tended to become a blanket hog in the middle of the night.

I stretched a bit, and then made my way outside. The nighttime coolness had already worn off and was replaced by an unfriendly glare of heat. By the time I had made it to an abandoned well the three of us used as our water supply, even my feet were sweating.

Loose pebbles stirred underneath my walk and I began to draw our little water bucket. No one else ever lived so close to the graveyard so we never had to worry about thieves, or guards for that matter. No idiot would have the gal to come this close, not even the Garo bothered anymore. Although I hated to think about it, but it must get pretty lonely here for the two. There was not much to do in town when you were dirt poor. In fact, most people down there thought orphans like us grew up to be the best slaves. Probably because we wouldn't have anyone to long for while working. This led to slave traders lurking in the shadows. I haven't run across one in my line of living, but I wasn't about to say they weren't there. I hefted the bucket away from the pulley and started my trek back home.

Colin awoke from my sudden arrival and gave me a sleepy smile. He took a quick look at Aryll's amusing sleeping position and chuckled slightly, "Hi Link. Did you just wake up?"

I nodded, "Not too long ago. Yeah," The heavy bucket I was carrying was placed onto the desk table. From there I sorted it into two chipped bowls that were at least somewhat clean. One was for drinking, the other, washing,"I'm going to go out. I'll bring back food. Keep an eye on Aryll. Would you?"

"Alright...Hey Link, why won't you let us help?" He looked at me, sincere. He was expecting an answer this time,"We both know what you do, and we wanna help. If me and Aryll helped, then we wouldn't have to worry about food as much. Maybe then we wouldn't even have to worry about moving."

"Sorry. It's selfish. I know. But I made a promise to myself. To never let you become what I have. A criminal. And I don't want to go back on my word," It was true. Once a criminal. Always a criminal. I wasn't about to let some crummy life circumstances turn them into that.

I didn't want to hear Colin's rebuttal, so I said my goodbyes. A bit rude. I knew, but it was for the good of both of them. At least that was what I thought.

Once again I weaved my way through the morning crowd, doing, once again, what I hated doing. Stealing. I couldn't help it though. Once I started I couldn't stop. And who would hire a scraggly orphan in these times?

My current target was an over populated stall with a blue and white stripped overhang that provided shade for the customers lucky enough to stand under it. Those not so lucky waited under the sun's rays. I had my eye on a fluffy bread this time, one part of the fresh morning batch.

Carefully, I delved deeper into the sea of bodies, forging a path to the front. I used my lacking height to an advantage here and hid in the shadows of those with more blessed height genes than I had. About the only good reason to being short I thought sarcastically.

Currently, I was camouflaged behind a robust woman who held a large basket at her side. Inside the woven container were a few loaves of bread, a cabbage or two and some other delicious food I mentally drooled over. Why hadn't I seen her supplies before? Stealing from this woman would, by far be easier than stealing from a stall in front of so many hungry eyes.

Prey relocated, I shifted my position to stand directly behind the basket. I inched my hand towards it when my ultramarine eyes crossed paths with a wandering child's eyes. The little girl, who held hands with the tall woman before me, I could only assume was her daughter.

In the world of thieves, eye contact meant one very bad thing. Your cover was blown. At least it was a child, I could deal with that. Was it an adult they would've already called the guards by now.

I still had a chance to escape unscathed before the nonchalant child gave me away. But the girl's big almond eyes held mine for more than I would've liked. Yeah. A little too long,"Mister has really pwitty eyes! Jem wishes she had eyes like yours," I could tell she wasn't going to stop jabbering with that looks of awe that twinkled in her big eyes," Jem only has plain brown eyes. But Mister's eyes are really really pretty! Like ball of...B-BLUE! AND JEM LOVES BLUE! IT'SMYFAAAAAVORITECOLOR!"

The mother in a pale yellow dress turned around and located me as the source of her daughter's sudden explosion of happiness. She looked at me, then at Jem. The glances directed at were skeptical, and I fell still under the mother's stare. If I was lucky, she would associate me with a normal boy out shopping, rather than the boy who was just about to take their dinner.

I got the later.

"Jem hunny, it's not good to shout at people."

"But Mommy, Mommy. He's got such pwetty eyes. Why doesn't Jem have eyes like his?"

When she looked in my previous spot for me, perhaps to apologize, she found I was no longer there. I was blending in with a group of shadows from a nearby building. I would've liked to share my comments too, but it was better if people didn't remember my face. I couldn't have people calling me out on the streets when I passed by. It would make my life harder than it already was.

I cut through a shrouded path until I ended up on the other side of the of the market street. A market could be found in practically any part of the city, but the main areas were situated along the river that split the city in two. It was supported by flowing spring water that eventually dropped steeply into the river below. Honestly, it was a bit troublesome that I was required to walk quite a distance to encounter another crowded market, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

The remainder of the morning was spent snatching bits and pieces of food from the vendors until I had collected a sizable amount of food kept hidden in a light basket underneath my dust colored cloak. I was just about to make my final stop when I noticed the small brunette girl from earlier. She wore frantic and worried expressions plastered on her face. Every now and then she would stand on her toes, little help it did, and spin her head around. Searching for something. I searched but couldn't locate the mother from earlier. She must have been lost.

I waited a moment. Then another. Still no sign of the mother. I could hear her soft snuffles and figured it wouldn't hurt to comfort her until her mother came.

"What's wrong?" I knelt down near Jem's whimpering form.

Her eyes stared at me. It took a few, but she recognized me,"Oooh, it's Mr. Fairy!"

"...Fairy...?" Why was I a fairy?

"I named your Mr. fairy 'cause Jem once saw a fairy, and it was just like your eyes!" Fairies were a rare occurrence in these time. Seeing as though the Great Fairy seemingly abandoned her people when the war started.

"You're lucky. I haven't seen one before. Where did you see it?" I was truly curious. Fairies were know to be messengers of the Great Fairies. Perhaps this land wasn't entirely damned.

"The, uh. I don't know. Now that I think about it it might have been yellow..."

Couldn't have everything could we? "Do you know where your mother is?" She shook her head passionately, "Then why don't we wait for her. Together." She appeared unsure but nodded anyway.

We sat down on the side of the street under some kindly provided shade. I offered to share part of my spoils and she gladly accepted. I would replenish the stock some other time.

Maybe ten? Fifteen minutes passed before I recognized the concerned wails of a searching mother. I took that as my que to leave. Didn't need any misunderstandings after all,"See you. Jem," I whispered and faded into the shadows. I saw her whirl around to catch me leaving, but I was already gone.

Sorry Jem, I thought to myself, your mother wouldn't like seeing you next to a dirty orphan. I did however, watch and confirm that it _was _her mother and not some creepy old lady. The mother in question immediately tackled her daughter with hugs and a few kisses and I recognized her as the women from earlier. Jem gratefully returned the hugs with a bright smile stuck on her face. They walked away, hand in hand, Jem however abruptly turned around to shout a goodbye in my general vicinity and then she returned to her mother's loving side. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous but I pushed it away.

Now that my little side quest was done, I was about to finish up my morning scavenge with one last raid, a tiny shop down away towards the east. It hosted cute headpiece I planed on taking for Aryll's upcoming birthday. Not that she really ever wore such fancy things, she always wears her hair in twin pigtails, but I hoped she would like it anyway. I stopped by everyday, waiting to make my move, and looking for a chance during the day that would be far and few, but it didn't hurt to try. I had tried to creep inside during the night, but I found every last window boarded up with a metal plate, making infiltration impossible.

I cut through the shadows cast over dirt roads, avoiding any major crowds, until I reached the brightly painted building. A golden tip of Ikana Castle peaked over some building tops in the nearby distance.

In contrast with the dull environment of Ikana, the citizens appreciated bright, bold colors. It created a lively atmosphere for anyone who wanted to judge by looks. Out of sight places generally never followed the same philosophy. Crates and barrels filled the alley behind and two neat window slits lined the top of the emerald wall.

I scaled a barrel further in and peaked inside. The lighting was extremely dim and the only light that penetrated inside where from the windows opposite and through the cloth doorway. The same lethargic shopkeeper sat on a stool surrounded by various nick-nacs. Some of which I would go as far as to call junk, but the hairpiece I desired was situated on a shelf in front of the thin man. A few seconds passed and he scratched at his back before he resumed playing with a quill.

_No luck today. Again. Does the guy ever use the bathroom?_

I was going to climb down, but from the entrance I heard a soft chuckle that made my body freeze.

"Well, well. Howdy-do, brat. We meet again," I stood there frozen. Surly this wasn't happening, "I didn't think I'd find you again so soon. I still haven't repaid you for last time we met."

Slowly, he marched his way over to me, unsheathing his short sword in the process. He smirked at me. Dang it. It was happening. He was the only guard who clearly remembered my face, and seemed to have nothing better to do than to try and arrest me. Added with an unhealthy dose of homicidal instincts, and you've got yourself a man who I really shouldn't have been near.

A ray of sunlight glistened off of his Guay helmet's beak and at that moment he made a lung for me,"I'll get you, you little RAT!" My feet narrowly avoided the pointed jab and I immediately sprinted towards the cracked wall at the end of the corridor. The guard's face was enraged and steaming. He easily vaulted over the wooden obstacles while I hopped from crate to crate, each one squeaking under my weight.

_Could I make it over the wall?_ I was going to have to. I heard the deafening sound of poor crate number five being smashed to pieces. I picked up my pace however much I could. I didn't want to be related to a box. At full speed I pounced on the jagged wall. My feet found small crevices I used to boost myself up. My heart was racing and my hands were clammy, but I could let myself get caught. Not now.

Just when I thought I had cleared the stone barrier a calloused hand reached out of the shadows and clasped my ankle," Let. Go!" I screamed, but his grip just tightened and he started chuckling.

"You won't get away now!"

I bashed my free foot repetitively against his hand but this man's iron grip was as good as glued. My grip on the wall was slipping and it wouldn't be long before I fell.

_Wasn't there anything useful in this back alley of stuff?_

_Some broken wood. No._

_I spotted a cat's gleaming eyes on a roof above. A little help? No? Okay then,_ I growled.

I urged my last bit of strength to come out as I tried to scale the wall. My last effort failed me though. My grip slackened and I was sent backwards, crashing into the man. His arms moved so that they were encompassing my torso. Things weren't looking so good now. I needed to make an escape plan, but nothing came to me. My feet flailed about perhaps a foot above the ground, and the bulky guard was carrying me towards the slim entrance.

Had I the mobility in my current situation I would have already kneed him in the crotch and escaped, but luck wasn't with me at the moment. I chose my second best option and chomped down on his arm. Irony liquid flooded my mouth and I heard a beastly yowl escape from his mouth but he didn't loosen his hold. Instead I felt his fist slam into my skull and I went blind for a short moment. Currently, pain was all I thought of. An intense ball of pain that erupted from the left part of my head. I wasn't even able to fully understand the half growled threat the guard issued.

_Come on Link, think! Find a way to get put of this. If he locks you up you're not getting out._ My vision still neared black the second time I looked around, but from what I managed to see there was still absolutely nothing I could use. Not good.

The bastard was about to make his final attack on my poor brain, probably so he could easily carry me back to jail, when a hissing flew in from my right. Before I knew it I was back on my feet. I didn't waste any time and headed straight for barren wall from earlier. In the back muffled hisses and meows tangled with unintelligible shouts.

"You little piece of shit!" Was one of them and, " Get your filthy ass back here," about summed it up. Most likely, the unidentified cat noises belonged to the feline I spotted earlier. Possibly the same cat I met with last night, but why it was helping me I couldn't be sure. I wasn't about to let a perfectly good opportunity go to waste though.

Three running steps up the piled stones and I was just about over. I risked a glance over my shoulder and was saddened to find the jet black cat getting slammed into the bordering building. It slid onto the dirt but from there and didn't move. I thought It might've died, or at least broken its spine, but I couldn't check to be sure. I quietly thanked the cat for its efforts.

My attacker had quite a few bleeding claw marks running across his face mixed with intense anger I could only guess was directed at me or possibly the downed cat.

I assumed it was me because not a second later did he resume his pursuit. I leaped off the wall and made a bee-line towards the exit as I dodged through another box infested alley way. Out on the street, dozens of people flowed by. Some big, some small. The guard shoved people left and right, trying to forge a path to me, but my slender form allowed my to maneuver through the crowd.

I kept sprinting through the mass of bodies until my heart was pounding against my chest and my previous head injury had picked up aggression again. I stopped in my tracks and looked over my shoulder. My short, heavy panting caught some weird looks from bystanders, but otherwise no massive form came barreling through.

I took that as a sign that I had lost him. Hopefully we'd never have to see each others faces again because I was sure neither of us wanted too. The man had some serious rage issues.

_I can't believe that just happened._ The guy almost had me. It shocked me how close I had been to to getting caught. Just a little more and I would have been locked up. Wow. I laughed a bit, probably a sure sign I was going crazy, but I ignored that bit. That was...intense. I definitely didn't like it at the time but the after affects were rather exhilarating? Who knew. I made a mental note to go back and bury my cat savior when I went back.

The sun rose high in the sky, leaving me to believe it was around noon. I was about to return home when I realized I had lost my basket of goodies back at the accessory shop. I wouldn't risk going back there even if someone gave me twenty rupees... OK I _would_, but one close call was enough adventure for me today. I quickened my pace through the crowd, if I stayed there long enough then the guard would likely find me again.

I was pretty sure I was two streets over from the river that cut the city in half. A little further in and I'd be at the richer part of town. Rich people apparently wanted to have no association with the poorer side of town, so every single one of them lived on the other side of the river, closer to Ikana Castle. The war had also caused a greater dispute between the classes. While the nobles, who had a hand in the government system managed to avoid taxes, those who lived down south were stuck paying cumbersome bills to fuel the military funds.

Nothing has happened in the past few months though, and it made me wonder why our king hasn't launched an attack yet. Now would be a perfect time. Our last attack had the Garo retreating from the Snowhead-Ikana Canyon river entrance. Had we set up a base of operations there, and launched a finishing attack on their retreating soldiers, we would have reclaimed the North-western border. But no, Kind Igos du Ikana decided it was better to clear off the Southwestern river entrance because he suspected the Garo would attack someplace else. He's been fighting them for about fifty years now, shouldn't he know their attacking style by now?

Whatever. Wasn't my business. What _was_, was that I needed to get some food. When I heard my stomach growl, I knew it agreed with me too. At noon, the heat was starting to scorch the orange ground beneath my feet, so I stuck to the shadows where it was at least five degrees cooler and the ground wasn't burning just yet. I stood there beneath a sun-bleached overhang and watched the crowd.

Perhaps...going across the bridge wouldn't be such a bad idea this once? I would be able to re-acquire my food supply a lot faster. With what I was thinking I couldn't help but notice my feat were already being drawn toward that area anyways. Hopefully I would just be in and out.

By the time I reached the opposite side of the river, I realized how tired I was. My head was still pounding, and the heat was starting to get to me. Plus, it was already a long morning, filled with more adventure than I would have liked.

Maybe if one of those factors were removed I would have noticed the shadows that crept through the crowd. Three speedy forms clad in cloaks swept past me and I felt the after-wind of their speed brush against my face. At first I didn't think anything of the three strangers. Everyone ran by every once in a while, there was no helping it. But these guys were sprinting like they wanted to get the hell out of there. Why? I wondered. It was a relatively nice day out and-oh.

_Oh._

_Shit._

_So that was why._

_Those sons-of-frickin'!_

They had planted a bomb right underneath the base of a bright green bush some yards away. They were Garo! And they were terrorists at that. Why I couldn't react to the bomb fast enough still confused me, but now I was going to pay for it. My bad day had just about turned into the worst day this year.

Normally I had much better reflexes and would have dashed out of there the minute I saw it, but this time I was glued to my spot, my eyes fixed on the dwindling flare. Maybe it was fear of death? Or curiosity, but my mind was set on staring down that fuse until the last spark, and its blue body went up in flames. No one else around seemed to take notice of the bomb, and they all just continued on their way like they weren't about to die any second now. Why I was the only one who noticed, I couldn't be sure, but once I saw that bomb explode it didn't matter anymore.

No stress anymore. I supposed that was a good thing. But I couldn't help feel I had something more left in my life to do. Colin and Aryll were probably the ones I was thinking of. I never did fulfill my promise of finding a better place to live. We wanted to go to great bay didn't we? I guessed that wouldn't be happen now.

The flash lasted only a split second, but it was long enough that I could feel the flames encasing my body. Soon everything in my vision was surrounded it flames. The people, the buildings, everything. I couldn't even hear the crackling sounds fire usually made because my ear drums had been blown out due to the blast. Every second that passed was followed with excruciating heat and agony as I felt myself melt away along with my subconsciousness. Everything slowly faded to black, and at that point I think I was dead.

* * *

***GASP* I just killed the main character! And yes, he did actually die. Don,t worry though, he'll be back**

**So...Wow, I** **actually** **finished** **something. AND** **posted it** **online. That** **takes** **awesomeness** **on** **my** **part. **

**Of** **everything, I** **think** **I** **have** **absolutely** **no** **idea what** **I'm** **doing. I** **haven't** **even** **finished** **the** **plot. I** **know** **I** **suck, right? I always thought I could write good story, but now that I've written one, I realized , I kninda sucked... Please** **though** **if** **you** **managed** **to** **read** **though** **my** **horrible** **writing** **and** **wouldn't** **mind** **more, please** **comment. It** **doesn't** **even** **have** **to** **be** **a** **review, heck** **you** **could** **type** **"." And** **I'd** **be** **happy.**

**So** **this** **story** **takes** **place** **sometime** **before** **Majora's** **Mask, back** **when** **the** I**kana** **civilization was** **still** **around** **and** **at** **war** **with** **the** G**aro. The** **ending** **results** **wouldn't** **lead** **up** **to mm, I** **wanted** **them too, but** **that** **would** **mean** **Ikana** **would** **be totally desecrated** **then. Dark** **Link** **will** **be** **coming** **soon, and** **he's** **not** **the** **same** **one from oot. U'll** **see.**

**When** **I** **decided** **to** **write** **this** **I** **had originally** **wanted a brand new zelda** **story. But** **thought** **about it. And** **holy** **cow that** **would be** **a lot** **of** **work. I'm** **a** **bit** **ocd, so** I** always** **have** **to have** **small** **stupid** **details planned b4. I** **can** **write without** **a** **plot** **sure,but I need to know what a rupee is made of before I can write ( it's a crystal that grows in dark, damp areas like pots and grass. eh ehh, see what I did there? Yeah, Just in case you wanted to know.)**

**This is my first fanfic, and hopefully not my last. This Link is also an oc in this one, he's part of the line of heros but he won't have the triforce because there is no evil mastermind threatening the safety of mankind, it's just a normal war. The Goddesses will come in later, but the people of Termina have given up faith in the godesses, because they seem to focus more on Hyrule than not. So instead they worship the four Giants and the Great Fairies. The Godesses will show up a bit later.**

**Oh and btw, I HAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTEeeEEe writing Aryll. I'm not a fan of little kids because I think they're rather annoying ( there's exceptions). But I love Aryll( is it pronounced Arill? I know the Jap is Ariru- Eng- Arilu? w/e) and she's my favorite child character, but i can't write her, she's too energetic... Imma stop here, it's getting long... Anyone case my title word**

**If** **you're** **like** **me** **and** **wanna** **comment** **but** **don't** **know** **what to** **say, you** **can** **answer** **my** **questions. ^°^**

**1) Do** **I** **have** **a** **gender** **in** **my** **voice? I** **wanna** **know.  
**

**2) Do** **I** **fully** **portray a** **setting? Or** **do** **I** **need** **more** **details or** **somth?**

**3) What** **personality** **do** **you** **think** **Link has? Is** **it** **consistent?**

**4) Am** **I** **funny? My** **writing? **

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF THE LEGEND OF ZELDA FRANCHISE, THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL CREATORS : SHIGERU MIYAMOTO AND NINTENDO.**


	2. Where

**So Welcome. If you made it this far, I commend you.**

**If you couldn't already tell this story is slightly AU and has my OC so yeh.**

**Thank you ikrose234 for reviewing. Cookies for anyone who wants to be like this awesome lady and review.**

* * *

**When Help Evades Reasonable Explanations-Ch 2**

Everything hurt. And I meant EVERYTHING. It was like somebody peeled back my skin, drizzled boiling water over delicate organs and muscles and then briskly reassembled my desecrated remains. Thousands of tiny, pointed needles still remaining. I could have easily stated that I have never experienced anything as excruciatingly painful in my entire life. I tried to decipher my pain's source, whatever was able to institute such agony, but my mind was swimming in an endless whirlpool of darkness.

I knew my body was still attached. That much I could tell. I could feel the pain radiate from each of it's respected sections. However, any more than that and it became increasingly difficult to discern anything else about my condition.

I sent commands throughout my muscles. To my eyes, ordering them to open. Out to my fingers, willing them to move. Whatever I could do to understand my body's ailments and how to cease the agony, but no muscle responded to my wails. Every last limb neglected my frantic orders. And just to shove their disrespect in my face, I felt a wave of burning pain shiver throughout my body. I gave up my fruitless attempts and opted for trying my luck with thinking. Thinking alone was the about only thing that didn't respond with a slap in the face.

I was at least able to confirm my state of consciousness because my tormenting body condition would, in no way, mean I was unconscious. If I _was_ unconscious then I would not be able to feel anything. But I also experienced a sense of distance between a certain section of...shall I say soul? and me. It wasn't as if it didn't exist. It was just that it was located in some distant spot and it was without any methods of contact. That, mixed with a vast sense of fear, based on the pretense that I understood nearly nothing about my current situation, sent chills through whatever remaining portion of me wasn't still consumed by pain. Not knowing was a terrifying thing. It could send man into the darkest depth of despair, and while I certainly was not headed quite that far, I was surely scared. I knew nothing of the current situation and I couldn't help but cogitate what would happen next.

My worries and frets were graciously forced into pause when something new fluttered in past the hazy flood of pain. A soothing, rose-colored light passing freely by. I was writhing in pain previously, but when the soft light swept throughout my subconsciousness, each and every last ache and sore dissipated one by one. The pain was actually receding. I felt instantly more alive and energetic than I was twenty seconds ago. Connectors between nerves were no longer terrorized by excruciating cuts or bruises. I still hurt quite a bit, but I wasn't in so much pain that I wished my life to end right there. Not long ago I likely would not have said the same, but as time ticked on, the assuaging fog expanded over the entirety of my wounds until I was left with only a slight ache in my side.

The soft, reverberating buzz of a nearby insect flutter away, and together disappeared the arcane light. I couldn't help but feel slightly melancholic when it fled. I kind of wanted to get a look at my savoir, but no matter how much pain had receded I didn't think I was in a good enough condition to capture a good look at it before it disappeared completely.

I reattempted ordering my limbs to respond, and this time they complied. My eyes were the first to respond. It felt like they had been closed for all eternity, only to now be disturbed by my irksome commands. They only reason they listened to me because they had been given a revitalizing burst of energy from an unknown source.

It was difficult to comprehend why someone like I was healed. I knew better than to expect I would ever be first on anybody's list, but here I was. A still living and breathing example of someone who was chosen to be healed. If I could locate the sorcerer than perhaps I could understand his preposterous reasoning.

My eyes bobbed around attempting to focus on something, anything, but all they found was darkness. I briefly thought I had become blind, but just as soon as the idea popped up I discarded it. I didn't think that was it. This darkness possessed edges. Edges that became increasingly clearer as the seconds passed and my eyes adjusted to the shadows. Something was blocking sunlight from penetrating.

I hefted sore arms and groped my grimy hands around my encasement. It was rough and dusty. Perhaps it was dismantled chunks of wall that fell down in the event of an explosion...The single noun seemed so nostalgic. It would make sense if that were truly all there was to it. It would have surly explained why I previously hurt so much, and why I seemed to be stuck between a hard place and multiple rocks. The released pressure must have devastated walls and their crumbling remains collapsed in a heap of debris that surrounded me. My mind was not in tip-top shape and everything was still slightly swimming in a wave of nausea, so when I forced myself to recall precisely the past events, the only picture painted in my mind's eye was one of yellows, reds, and oranges. I was unable to fully recall at the moment but an explosion appeared a good an answer as any.

Once I had my hands placed in a firm position against the wall, I pushed outwards. I needed to get out, if I was lucky I would only be trapped beneath a thin layer of debris. Anything more and I wasn't completely confident of my escaping capabilities. As I brought out my strength against what I believed to be adobe clumps, the load barely shifted an inch!

I breathed a disappointed sigh. Underneath a roof of debris I laid. My head had officially regained its composure and could clearly focus, but I was unable to even put that to use because everything was shrouded in darkness and there was nothing I had 'seen' that could have helped.

I felt around for a looser stone. If the one above me didn't move, perhaps I could locate an alternate route.

I fumbled around sharp crevices and jagged edges until I succeeded in grasping a palm sized stone. I shoved the rock aside and attempted to unravel more stones placed firmly in their holds. If brute force refused to ally with me then other opportunities had to come into play, this one being an attempt to dig my way out of the little cave. My quarters were cramped, but I managed to shuffle my body against the opposite side to make room for incoming pebbles stones. I was positive that somewhere around here there was a way out. There was no way I was about to die in some deity forgotten dump.

The small miniscule pile of dirt and rock I unearthed hadn't even produced a dent in my seemingly impenetrable stone cage. If there wasn't an exit, then I was going to run out of air. I looked around. My eyes darting from dark corner to dark corner. No illumination penetrated from any unseen holes. Anything that appeared remotely like an escape route, I discovered the hard way, had either been too heavy to lift, or welded together in a pile of crushed clay.

"He-" I had tried but my voice failed me when it let out a short, soundless huff. How long had I been out? I tried again, this time louder,"Help!" I wasn't sure if anyone would even be able to hear me under all this rubble but I had to try. I had attempted the only two possible options I could come up with at the time being. I hated having to rely on others, but I looked like the only other choice I was left with.

Once more I cried out , asking if anyone was there. I didn't hear any footsteps but the dust that settled on top of my already dirt coated hair notified me that there was something going on out there."Hey!" no answer."HELLO?" mystery man didn't answer but dust did. I didn't care if the guy was mute, if he was helping me I wasn't about to decline. I could get over my issues of pride for a few minutes if it meant extending my life.

I stood up as much as possible, my neck and shoulders crashing against the low ceiling, and pushed again against the boulder. If someone else was trying to bust me out, I might as well not be anymore of a burden. It budged a little and I saw streams of light peak through. I squinted and my sore muscles screamed at me to stop but if I released then, the entire thing would likely topple on top of me. I let out a muffled groan as my mysterious other and I lifted the wall completely out of the way.

The light that flooded in blinded my eyes and I held up soot covered arm to shield. Now that there was sunlight, I finally noticed my abused image. Though I wasn't outwardly injured, soot covered every where. I wiped my brow only to relocate an increased amount of the black grimy stuff. Not to mention the dirt and dust particles that spread its grime through my unkempt hair and clothes. At least what was left them. My clothes where tattered and torn with black scorch marks surrounding the remaining cloth. I might as well have been half naked, but at least it covered the important parts. My hair received the damage much better and only possessed slight singes.

I turned to find my savior so I could at least thank him or her before I went on my way, but when I looked I only spotted the remains of a tower of black smoke dispersing into the wind. That couldn't be right. I knew I got help. I couldn't have gotten out of there alone. I assumed they must have run away. I didn't know why though. Perhaps it was the same person who healed me and they just didn't want anyone to know...

I pushed myself over the stone barrier so I could get a better look at my surroundings, but I immediately regretted the decision. What I saw was something that sent my insides churning. It wasn't the demolished buildings that collapsed on themselves in little heaps of stone like what I had previously been standing in, or the shear force or the impact that blew crater into the center of a once lively market place. No, it wasn't any of that. It was the horde of corpses that littered the street like trash.

Ten of bodies were sprawled across the soil in various positions, and each one sported burns of different levels. Most were burnt to a charcoal black. I was barely able to identify the majority of them as human they were burnt so bad. I was becoming queasy just looking at them. It shook me that this could have been my fault because I didn't say any thing about the bomb when I had first seen it. No. I immediately threw the thought away. This wasn't my fault it was the one's who placed the bomb down. It was the Garo's. They were the ones blame.

So that really happened...didn't it. It occurred to me that my brain finally recalled the past events. The bomb. My cowardice. All of it. But why wasn't I dead?

I stared out as the small wasteland, each charcoal black body was somebody who, not so long ago, was living. Some lay half beneath similar rock piles such as my own, limbs poking out from impossible positions, while others faced up endlessly at the cloudless sky. I held out my hand out and stared at it like if I did so long enough It would answer me. But no reply came so the question just swam around in circles, racking my brain for plausible answers. Why was I still alive.

I had been healed. That I understood, by who though I couldn't really care much for, it was more of why, but no one could bring the dead back. Not even the best sorcerers in the land or even our scientists couldn't do it. It just wasn't possible. Once you died you came back as a ReDead, and an explosion would kill anyone automatically. There would not have been a chance for resurrection. I should have died instantly...So here I was. Not dead. And I remembered something else that would be pretty soon.

Those dead bodies over there would soon begin to rise from their horrid states as ReDead. And I didn't want to be anywhere near them when it happened. Whether it was by fluke or by fate, I was still alive and I wasn't about to put my life to waste so soon. There were people who wanted me back.

I cast a shy glance at the still forms. Already one was starting to move. I snapped back to reality and took off in the direction of the school.

The nearby streets were deserted and the only sound made was by Guay that cawed high in the sky or by the townsfolk who slammed shut their shutters when they saw someone pass by. After an attack like that, they knew better than to walk around in the open. As soon as that bomb rang, they likely all sprinted back to the safety of their homes. Unfortunately for the guards they didn't have that luxury. It was their duty to hunt the terrorists, secure the perimeters and deal with the soon to be rising dead. Glad I wasn't them.

So there I was running though the streets; the once bustling roads now a barren slab of dirt. The vary same dirt puffing below my feet and gathering on my tattered clothes. It was lonely traveling through the city by yourself, not to mention scary. Sure there weren't any potential threats walking around on the street, but that just added to the eeriness of the situation. For all I knew I could be seconds away from a Poe or ReDead on the other side of the road. I knew the spot I came from couldn't be the only one like it. The Garo didn't work like that. Knowing their attack patterns, there were likely a multitude of explosion spots sporadically spotting the city. I hoped that for the remainder of my travels I wouldn't have to run into one of the undead. Just looking at one was scary enough. I wouldn't want to experience running away from one of them. I could really only rely on the guards and hope that they would take care of the ReDead infestation before they got out of hand and escaped.

I prayed that Colin and Aryll weren't in any situation similar to that.

How long have I been away from them I wondered as I passed by increasingly uninhabited buildings. The area starting to revert into the dumpy place I've come to call my home. The sun told me it hadn't been more than a few half hours since the last time I spotted daylight. I honestly felt like it was eternity ago though. Like I stopped existing for a few moments and when I woke up there was I gap in my life. I doubt I'd ever be able to feel that missing piece of me seeing as how it still hadn't re-appeared yet. My state of unconsciousness didn't feel like sleep or when you faint. With either of those you didn't feel like your life was split in its timeline by a knife. What this feeling was, or even more importantly: why I had it, continued to bemuse me as got closer to our rundown place.

Along with this mind splitting feeling, I had absolutely no idea who it was that helped me out. Why would anyone run away after saving someone? If I stayed there I wondered if I could have found him hidden somewhere in the shadows. Had it not been for him I would still be in that hole and might've run out of air by now. Even though it was against my nature, I really wanted to thank him, but the guy seemed to have disappeared in a puff of smoke as I crawled out.

I took a glance back where I had came from. Even from this distance I saw the devastation the little bomb had caused, and it wasn't alone. From this high up on the side of the mountain, I saw several other craters that dotted the city. I hadn't noticed them while rushing through the streets, but from my view on the hill it was easy to see the destruction they caused. Some holes still had smoke and dust billowing out, suggesting the explosion happened not to long ago. It was no wonder the guards hadn't made it to my cratered spot to clean up any of the ReDead. They already had their hands busy.

It made me think about how incompetent our king and military systems really were. At least a dozen Garo must have snuck past their line to set up the explosives. How had they not caught a single one? They could have prevented this hole thing if they just_ tried_.

I let out a deep sigh._ Whatever. If the government sucks then it's not my problem as long as my family isn't involved_. I just hoped that nothing happened to them in any of this commotion. If anything did happened I wasn't sure how I would take it.

Our dilapidated home rose up into sight and I ran the last few yards there. Even if something strange happened to me back at the explosion site, it didn't matter. All that mattered now was that I was still here, and my family would be there too.

I rounded the the corner into our living room and my spirits immediately sank when I saw that there wasn't anyone there. I wasn't about to let that get me down though. They were somewhere around here and if I waited long enough they'd show up eventually. Although they'd probably be rather disappointed when they find I've been gone for half a day and didn't bring back any food. Oh well, it wasn't like we haven't gone a day without food before.

I jogged over to our multipurpose couch. Next to it laid a beaten fruit crate we now used for storage more than anything else. After digging my hand around the splintered wood and through moth-eaten pieces of clothes and various collected nick-nacs, I pulled out an old winter set of clothes I used to wear until I grew out of them. Colin had once used them as hand-me-downs but he grew out of their size faster than I had. Now the outfit laid in a forgotten bunch at the bottom of the crate until I came along.

I threw off my holed clothes and shot them into an unused corner of the room. I returned my attention back to pile of cloth and piece by piece I redressed myself in them. I slid the faded, navy blue pants over my thin form. A pale long sleeved shirt went on next, pre-attached to a tabard like over-shirt, gold color outlining the hem. It looked like I hadn't grown much since I outgrew these last.

Changing done, I slid over to the window sill and stared out at the scene before me. At a higher place than before, I fully saw the city that stretched out into the distance, the Ikana Castle being the farthest back on the ledge over yonder. I've grown to love this amazing view, the mountains in back and the broad sky above, but right now I didn't want to look at at it. I didn't want to be reminded of the countless people who lost there lives in a matter of minutes not long ago because of a government who ruled its people but still couldn't do its job right. I turned my head away from the scene with a scowl.

.

I stared back into the room silently for what must have been at least an hour, before I started getting a little worried. I knew they often played with each other while I was gone, but I figured with the attack and all they would have returned sooner. I was hopping they'd pop their little heads back in sometime soon so I could stop fretting, but as the minuets ticked by the only thing that happened was the shadows growing longer as the sun neared sunset. I briefly contemplated whether I should go out and look for them. I certainly wasn't doing anything here, and Aryll and Colin might not return home any time soon at this rate.

My eyelids fell into a long fall downwards until I took notice and hoisted them back up only for the event to occur again. My mouth joined in on the fun and yawned. It looked like the adventures of today finally caught up to me. Maybe a nap would do me good. When I woke up Colin and Aryll would probably be here anyway. Maybe this missing piece in my mind would show itself and I wouldn't have to keep living, feeling like part of my life was missing. I could already feel my eyes growing heavy and my line of thought becoming hazy, so I let myself slowly drift of to sleep; my subconscious drifting into a soothing black. I hoped I would feel better when I awoke.

.

That night I had such a strange dream. My vision was surrounded in a void of nothing. Everywhere I went there was nothing there, not a soul as far as the eye could see. And for the first time I felt absolutely alone. Normally I always had my family with me so I never had to worry about such a thing, but here even they weren't there. Not even annoying insects survived in the vacuum.

I couldn't tell because there was not a thing that differed in the surroundings, but I knew I had spun around and around, just trying to grasp any thing of substance, but just when I thought I had seen something I realized that my vision was just playing tricks on on me. I felt my chest elevate up and down, the only noise being my sporadic breaths. Breath in. Breath out they went. The rhythmic breaths creating an eerie vibe.

Time passed in that black void, and with each second that passed my mind became more and more flustered. It wasn't until heard a woman's voice creep out from the darkness that I calmed down. It was soft and smooth, like rolling in a bed of silk, and something about it let me know that I shouldn't be afraid. I turned around to take a look at what could provide me comfort in such a desolate place, but as I kept turning I couldn't get any closer than I was. No matter how hard I tried, the disembodied voice stayed just a head's distance out of my sight.

I stopped my futile efforts to listen to her calming voice, "Fare well*, young Link." now that was odd, while the voice seemed to be made of nothing but fluff and happiness, I sensed something almost melancholic in her voice. "May you do well in aiding this country," it was grief that clouded her wonderful voice, but what reason did she have to be sad,"and...we are sorry."

Before I could round up the courage to ask the voice what she meant I found myself waking with a start. The images already fading from my memory. I rested upon the same window sill I was on before except now instead of piercing sun rays I sat under the pale light provided by a moon that seemed to be ever taunting me, being so far away and out of harm's reach. A cool breeze slithered across my neck and I responded with a quick shiver.

I was just about to wipe away my drowsiness and go say hi to Aryll and Colin when I realized nothing had changed from those few hours ago. The very same heart-wrenching feeling was still there but more importantly my family was not. Had they came by they would have said "hi" or something of the sorts, but I distinctly remembered not waking up and having a strange dream instead. That must have meant that they hadn't come back. I couldn't produce an answer as to why they wouldn't have at least told me where they were going if they had stopped by.

I started to panic a bit._ What if something happened to them? Would I even be able to help them when I don't even know where they are_. Back on my feet, I started to pace back in forth, a nervous habit I've picked up over the years. I wondered if it would be better to stay here and wait or see if I could find them. I figured since they hadn't shown up yet then it was a safe guess to say they weren't in the building. However that would also mean they were outside at the time of the explosion. My heart began to beat a little faster out of nervousness. If that was the case, then I needed to hurriedly find them. There was no telling how many ReDeads were wandering around the plaza by now.

I cursed myself for having fallen asleep. It was hours ago that I got home and who knows how long it was since they actually left. I had just wasted more time because of my stupidity. I shot out of the window, not bothering to take the long way through the corridors. An image of the graveyard flashed through my head as I scurried to my feet and sped up into a run towards the graveyard. _Colin often went there, maybe he took Aryll with him_ I thought hopefully.

The barren mountain side, decorated with sparse trees and cacti was barely lit in the pale moonlight, but I didn't let that stop me from looking. I heard an owl hoot in the distance but ignored it; it wasn't who I was searching for. I slowed to a stop up on the hill above the tombs where Colin often sat and reminisced, but no matter how long I stared at the empty space, no two forms appeared.

I started pacing there on the spot, thinking. I attempted to recall all of the places they'd gone before. I've already checked the graveyard, the soft moans that protruded from the expanse of land below breaking the ominous silence. There was the well we often used to draw water. It was logical. They could have left to get a drink of water, but I scratched that idea because I remembered a half-full bowl of water back at the classroom. If they wandered into the city...I wondered if it would even be worth it to look for them in there. The place was HUGE and even I didn't even know my way around it that well.

Still pacing across the rough dirt, I tried to formulate any more possibilities but those seemed to be the logical reasons they would be out this late. "Where are you?" I breathed. Taking deep breath I tried to calm myself. Thinking with a calm mind would produce better results than a frayed one.

I tried to recall previous conversations, gestures, _something_ that could serve as a hint. What was the conversation I had with Colin this morning...It was about my job. No. They wouldn't. Would they? If that was the case then...they could already be smack between bars. They don't even know the first thing about thievery. I couldn't understand why they would try and copy what I did. I always brought back food, there was no reason for them to feel the necessity to go out and help.

I couldn't understand, but I needed to located them and that was all that really mattered. I looked out at the expanse of city laid out before me. I wasn't even sure where to start. I had no real leads, but I ceased my useless panning and took a step forward anyway. If my brain didn't work then my body was just going to have to, but just before I took five steps forward, I was stopped dead in my to tracks when I felt something tug my shoulder.

I whipped around, my heart jumping, wishing it would be who I was looking for, but was met with nothing but shadows that cascaded onto boulders in the distance. I rubbed my shoulder a bit. Whoever it was shook me pretty hard and-hey did it just get darker? I couldn't notice any substantial differences but for a moment it seemed as though the moon's light was slightly diluted.

It must have been nothing though. _Today's been crazy and I'm on edge. Probably just a muscle spasm anyway_. Unfortunately reality didn't seem to like my reasoning so when I glanced back, annoyed for being distracted, my instincts acted faster than my mind and I leapt back out of pure fright.

Behind me stood a Poe, surrounded in smoky shadows,hovering above the ground. Its crimson irises boring back at me. There was something familiar about those floating orbs, and the whole general form and feeling that radiated from the spirit made me feel a strong wave of nostalgia, but I brushed it off. I probably knew the guy while he was alive. I stared intensely back at the floating spectral, I could almost HEAR it floating, floating in a monotonous rhythm of up downs.

The reason I had originally jumped was because Poes were extremely aggressive, having been born of left over regrets, most of those included inducing revenge upon they're murderers. However that just often led to blind rage so it was best to stay on the cautious side near them or just stay as far away as possible. When I started to inch away, my eyes never leaving the ghostly figure, it made no move to follow. It just stared at me, giving the impression of neutrality on it's non-expressive face. I could tell it was a boy's Poe maybe even someone my own age, but I couldn't place the face. Its features lacked distinct identifiable curves and lines. Really it was only a shape, the form of something human. I looked the passive Poe up and down. I had never been this close to one before, I assumed they were all dangerous, but this one kept proving me mistaken.

I wasn't about to let up my entire guard though. Even regular people who portrayed an air of kindness could be a double-edged blade. A bit quicker this time, I retreated backwards. When I saw it lift its hazy hand I was about ready to bolt straight down the cliff into the graveyard. I wasn't sure how that situation would be any better, but at least I'd be out of the general vicinity of the nearest Poe. Probably the only reason I didn't make a mad dash down a cliff I wasn't even sure I could climb was the hesitation that I saw in the spirit. The moment I started, it stopped. I'd like to say it was trying to be careful, as if trying not to frighten me, but Poes didn't retain enough emotions to show signs of empathy.

It continued to lift its hand while I stood on the tips of my toes, ready to make a break for it in case it tried anything fishy, but it smoky limb was stationed in the air, unmoving. This was weird. Not only had it made no move to attack, something I'm still not quite sure about, but now it looked like it was pointing. I couldn't help but wonder if I invaded it's territory or something, and it was telling me to get the hell out.

We stood at a stalemate, just staring at each other, unblinking. I wasn't sure what to do. My common sense seemed to have gone A.W.O.L. as of today and curiosity was its substitute. Part of me wanted to get closer to the familiar being, but reason told me I'd be an idiot to do so. I started up my escape again. If I could get away, no, RUN away then I could get out of this situation. I couldn't trust the being. Any second and it could crack and charge at me. I was desperate to be long gone before that occurred.

By the time I was five steps in the opposite direction, towards the city, the spectral had vanished into a black puff of smoke. The substance dispersing into the already dark scenery. It wasn't five seconds later that my surroundings showed no remembering sign that the Poe was even there. I spun my head around trying to sense if it had materialized again, but no darkened piece of shadows formed anywhere, and no crimson eyes glared back at me from any direction. The spot it had once hovered above now was just a bunch a pebbles over a worn out path.

I remained there in that exact position for at least ten seconds, holding my breath as though the first moment I made a move it was going to come out again and attack. The Poe however never reappeared though, and I was left flabbergasted. Quite a few things where on my mind, most of them relating to the bizarre situation that even now I want to brush off as a figment of my imagination, something caused by the pure impossibility of today, but I could still feel a sting on my shoulder, reminding me just how close it had been. And how real.

I was uncertain about leaving. I still needed to go and look for my family, but on the other hand I felt like if I left then what just happened would morph into a simple dream. It ended so suddenly, and once my shoulder's sting faded I would only have unreliable memories to ascertain this situation's truth.

Over roads and rooftops it had pointed. _Why had it pointed over there?_ That area was nothing but slums and alleyways filed with shady businesses and the worst kind of people. _Why had it? There's nothing..._there_?_ I almost sounded like I was complaining. Perhaps I was. Whining about being given false information. I knew they wouldn't be over there, they were smarter than that. Yet I couldn't help shake the feeling that the mysterious being might've had a point. Looking back at the encounter, it could have been seen as an attempt at communication. If neither of them showed by now then there was a possibility they had wound up trouble. What more troublesome place than over there?

I glanced back at its previous spot, and had the urge to start pacing but held it in. Every minute I stayed here was a another minute they could be getting further and further away. I didn't trust the black puff of smoke, and I didn't think I ever would, but there was something in the way it looked at me that made me consider that there could be another side to it. If I was going to go on a blind search into the city then, be it shady or not, a hint was hint. They likely wouldn't be there, but it was a start. If it had led me onto a wrong path then it better not materialize anywhere around me.

I passed by without a second glace and headed down the hill, soon to reach the area commonly as slums. The night air brushed by and I skittered down a foot-worn path down the slope. Forget logic, I thought to myself, family was more important. Thistles and cacti needles became caught at the hems of my pant legs; I would take them out later but right now I was busy. The slope declined at a level rate until easing off into into the surrounding ground level. I slid down part way, hoping to gain some extra time. The dust flew from beneath my feet in red clouds and I heard rocks scrapping against dirt floors as I rode over them.

I was still uncertain with leaving the way things were, but that was what I had to do so I pressed on.

I passed by more rundown buildings, some the remains of what used to be a populated shopping district based on my guesses. Over time living conditions and the safety of this area began to decline and people deserted the area. Now only those desperate for shelter took root here. The homeless, the runaways, the criminals. You could find someone of any kind in these parts.

Through darkened corridors I went. I spotted some strangers peeking out of their windows, only to swipe their heads back down when they noticed I looked back. Otherwise, the streets were barren of any civilization, save for a few rats if they even counted. I couldn't blame them either. I didn't trust the guards to fully exterminate the ReDead threats that meandered throughout the city. Nor did I trust them to ever bring their cocky selves down to this level and do a bit of crime prevention. I wanted to be inside with my family close by, but they must be found first before anything like that could happen.

Around fifteen minutes flew past by the time I had delved into the deeper part of Ikana's outskirts. Where me and the others lived may have been a poor and desolate area, but it was deserted and far enough away that it didn't quite fall under the same category. Under most circumstances I resorted to staying clear of these areas. When you arrived here you might as well be putting the skin on your back up for auction because nothing you owned was safe. Really, you were _never_ safe here. Not even in the own confines of your house. And just because I was a thief, didn't put me outside the lines of danger. The thieves here were far more ruthless than I would ever want to be. Here, there was no honor amongst thieves. You took what you could find. Friend or foe.

I really didn't want to be here, especially at the dead of night. Nothing came from wandering around at night in a bad part of town. The thought had crossed my mind once or twice, that Aryll and them wouldn't be stupid enough to take a stroll through here, but with what the damn Poe had done, I couldn't help but feel like it had an extremely valid point. If they had gotten scooped up into some trouble, here would be a better place than any to find trouble. I also knew that I was walking in blind without this hint. True, I was following vague directions, but I wasn't sure where else to start. No matter what I thought about doing, it always seemed to have me in a terrible position in each of my imaginations.

I swiveled my head, looking at the increasing amount of garbage that covered the street. I think I saw an old man, beaten and ragged, sleeping underneath some of it. I shivered, hoping that my family would never have to be in that situation.

I picked up the pace and brought my arms around my chest in an attempt to preserve body heat. I didn't want to be here. I really didn't want to be here, or even have to search. I was shivering like a Goron during winter, sore, my battered feet being the main perpetrators, and extremely stressed. I could almost feel the giant headache that seemed like it was prodding behind my skull the entire time, waiting for another terrible situations to be thrown its way just so it could absorb its irritation and grow into a frickin' giant pain in the ass.

My emotional rant aside, I was beginning to feel a partially nervous. The way the wind crept up and whistled by my ear, and how I felt like every shadow that swept by was going to slowly mutate into another Poe. This one being one that would surly jump me. The slightest movement made me jump and I was getting sick and tired of it. _Please oh please be here_ I mentally cried.

Oh, who was I kidding. I had no idea what I was doing here and not a clue as to where to start looking besides obscure instructions from a dead person. For all I knew I could've already passed them at what the twentieth turn ago? I should go back. The thought sounded like sweet candy. The Poe was just leading me on a wild goose chase. Right? I gave an exasperated sigh and kicked the rough ground beneath my feet.

I stood between two options both logically sound. I could turn around run away with my tail between my legs and search somewhere else, or suck it up, be a man and press on. Would being female at this point help at all I wondered. I swayed between the returning path and the path before me. Walking a few steps one way and then adjusting my stride to head in the opposite direction. One step. Two steps. Turn and repeat. Getting a little bit further in each time.

Oddly enough this continued on for quite some time. Truly it was a battle of which side took more steps over here. Of course I would go to the edge of the Moon for my family, but some things had to be categorized as stupid. Every time I would turn back and continue my futile search, I would move forward however many feet. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going. It wasn't like I had a horrible sense of direction so I could probably find my way out of this dump with little effort, but every time I pushed on I felt like I was getting closer to something and being drawn further away from my designated path. I looked like I controlled my stride but with every step I took I felt a tug towards one direction or the other. It was a better feeling at least compared to being entirely lost at least, almost like I had a new purpose here.

After so long of mindless dawdling along with indecisive feet, eventually I found myself in front of a door. Or a piece of wood. That was about all it was. A few pieces of lumber strung together by some ripping strands of old leather shoved in front of large hole in the wall. Most of the wall had cracks that looked like they might spread any second now and cause the whole building to collapse. It was obvious why too. The building was one of the older models of home that still circulated the mountain side before they figured out how to build houses in more convenient places. The house must have been there a century to still be here today. Vines had also overrun the walls, spurting out of nooks and crannies. The thing almost looked like a giant stone plant.

Some raw Rupeen had even found a home behind a cracked, brown pot. When compressed and stamped with the official seal they made rupees, but otherwise they were a useless lump of soft crystal. I considered snagging a piece of the deep blue crystal that grew practically anywhere just so I could have a little souvenir to remind me how much of a waste of time this trip had been. I crouched down and snapped off a coin-sized piece. It broke easily under pressure and I pulled it closer to my face to inspect the potential money. Between my fingers I rolled the jagged rock, thinking how if only the crystals grew into a pre-compressed form. If they did, then I'd be rich. All I'd have to do would be to hack down some weeds and break open a few pots before I could amass a large collections of rupees. Rupees of every color of the rainbow. Oh, how that sounded so sweet. And they even regrew. Every time the lawn grew back the rupees regenerated at practically the same speed. So every time you cut your lawn it'd be like getting payed fifty rupees a week.

But I tossed the worthless rock back at the wall anyways, bouncing off and making a perfect landing in the dirt spotted container. Yay... I mumbled. I turned around. I was going to have to search in some other place. There was nothing here. I must have been duped. The only thing I've found so far were more abandoned dumps. Like I didn't already live in one.

When I grabbed the chance to take a good look around I had no idea where I was. I knew I hadn't really been paying attention to where I was heading when I arrived, but I knew I had been walking along a straight path. The one laid out before me was, well. Nonexistent to say the least. The only thing I could call it was a drop to my doom. The cliff abruptly started only a few yards away and the only thing that stood on its face was the the stone building and me. The cliff just made a half circle around the premises to provide enough room to walk around a few paces. There wasn't even a noticeable way down when I looked over the edge. The cliff dropped down at a 90° angle.

What was I going to do? I pondered._ I'd have to scale the side of a mountain for who knows how long if I ever wanted to get down. More importantly though why the hell am I _here_?! I _walked_ here. There was no climbing anywhere in that process. I should not be here. Was I dreaming?_ No never am. That meant this was reality playing a cruel trick on me.

I stared over the edge with my mouth slightly agape. The bottom below the edge just faded into an endless, black abyss the connected along a navy blue horizon dotted with tiny lights and swirled around throughout the sky. My surroundings were still lit by a pale moon light, but when I turned my head towards the sky no mocking Moon glared down at me. All that was there was an endless darkness.

I tried to think of any plausible possibilities, but my brain couldn't make sense of the situation.

I got up to walk, thinking maybe I could find something in the pile of stone until I noticed a red ball of light floating a few feet above the stone roof. There seemed to be something else surrounding the dot. A body perhaps?

"Heh heh heh! You finally noticed. I almost thought you were just going to drop dead right there." what spoke was a young man, probably, who was swinging his legs over the edge of the roof. His skin was pale and he wore a ragged, off white dress thing kept close by a thick leather belt and old, thread bare, royal purple cloak. The cloak cast impenetrable shadows across his face leaving only what I could assume was a glowing eye.

"So what is a fine young man like yourself doing here? Mind you, I don't get many of the living sorts out here. My clientele mainly revolves around...Oh...the undead." I couldn't believe this guy. We were on the top of an endless abyss and he wanted to act like it was normal. "I don't see why it wouldn't be."

_Wow...I-I'm not even going to bother with this guy. He's got some odd issues to sort out. Did he just read my mind? How was that even possible. Unless..._"You, are a sorcerer!" I cried out. That would mean this a void in space by created by his magic. _That would definitely explain why I'm on top of a pathetic cliff on the side of a mountain over nothingness. _Although I really wasn't sure why the guy wanted to be-rid of the Moon.

"So he speaks! I was beginning to think you were mute. Although you did not quite seem it, so I thought it was a bit strange." the guy joked. "Almost, but what gave it away? The fact that you are cast above an endless abyss? Or has dieing once and coming back to life given you the profound ability to detect the presence of magic?" he seemed to enjoy the situation while he was saying this. His speech added further proof that he had gone crazy.

"That is rude young man. I will have you know that that I hunt ghosts for a living. I would know the undead if I saw one. And you sir, have died."

I continued to glare at the man. There was no way I would be standing here had I died. I was positive I was still alive.

"Heh heh heh! Feisty. I will tell you this. You were caught in one of the explosions not too long ago, yes?" I made no move to give into his prodding. "Then you likely died there. In do not deal much with the living so I do not know why you are still alive. But that much is true."

"I don't believe you." I muttered.

"Believe what you want boy, I do know what I'm talking about though."

"Please. Let me leave." I whined. The mans eye's were crawling through my skin and I wasn't sure if I could withstand much more his psychiatric. And the way he had phrased that last line left me wondering if he knew more than he lead on.

I shifted in my spot until I heard the answer, "You were asking about where you were before. You guessed right. This is a magic field I created to draw in the dead. Still do not believe me then suit yourself. I was hoping you would stay longer but it looks like you really want to leave. " he chuckled a bit before continuing,"I will comply. For now."

He cracked his cane against the stone, the sound vibrating throughout desolated terrain. I didn't have time to feel scared or worried because almost immediately his chuckle mixed in with the muffling silence and his form dissipated into a nightly darkness. Everything, along with him appeared to fade out until they were no longer there.

I alone was left over in emptiness.

* * *

**Yay I finished. And Link managed to have a conversation while only saying, what? Three lines?**

**I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, for all of you who care. I write really slowly. I'll try and be a bit faster next time. ( I really wanted to meet the 20,000 word search but didn't make it.) Looks like it takes about a month for me to write though?**

**Aryll and Colin will reappear in like, two chapters or so.**

**Dude, someone do me a favor and write an LOZ zombie/redead apocalypse fanfic. I'll love you forever**

**At some point a little further in, I'll wanna write two shorts. One about cuccus, the other a Momotarou adaptation. (There's a bunch of other story plots I wanna try but I doubt I'll ever get around to it.)  
**

**When I was writing this chapter, I felt like my vocabulary had degraded to that of a fifth grader. I mean link was like 'doing' all of his verbs, and I couldn't even think of any synonyms.**

**The Ghost Hunter was a lot of fun to write. When I looked at his dialogue he's a lot more...up beat and bouncy than you'd expect from his line of work. I gave him magic...cuz...it just kinda ended up that way. No really, it was entirely unplanned. If you like him then you're in luck cause he'll come again later.  
**

**Link got a bit more light hearted in my opinion in this chapter...I didn't mean for that to happen. What do you guys think, did his personality differ in this chapter?**

**If I need to reedit this Ch then feel free to say so. I'll be very happy if you do.**

**And here it is if you wanna go check it out in full. art/Hope-369312879**

**I don't want to talk that much so I'll leave it here. Please comment. Guest reviews are fine, so are one word answers :-) . Flames are OK too. Again if you're not sure what to say you can answer my questions.**

**1) Based on my explanations, what do you think the setting looks like? Like, specifics, where are things located?**

**2) What do you think of the Poe so far?**

**3) So far, does this war seem realistic? Any suggestions on how it should be fought?  
**

**4) What do you think of the chapter length? Should I shorten it?**

**ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTFUL CREATORS AND NINTENDO**

**A v ^ A v ^**

**Rain song ^^^**


	3. Morals

**I have not. I repeat HAVE NOT given up on this story, and I will see it to the end even if I get tired of writing it. ( I just got really lazy last month sorry about that folks). Look I even wrote more for you. For those who have read this far, OMFG I LUB U ALL.**

**Carry on**

* * *

**Ch 3- Morals**

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

3:48.

I've been up for about an hour now. My eyes were screaming at me to allow them rest, but I felt like if I fell asleep once more, I wouldn't wake up again. Reason being: that big burly guard from earlier. The guy who most likely would have chased me to the end of Termina if I hadn't escaped back then. But as luck had it I was captured, and now he was keeping guard in front of the only exit. Not even giving the slightest hint he was about to leave. Every now and then the guy would face my way and give me a irksome smirk that, more often than not, displayed his distinct lack of multiple teeth.

The reason I was laying here in a dark cell with metal bars between me and freedom could probably be explained by stupidity. After the mysterious Hunter dispersed his illusion, I found myself in the exact same spot I last recalled being in. Except this time the dilapidated stone building that had cracks running across cracks and a clay pot on the side was no longer there. Where the stacked hunk of stone used to be was now just an empty lot with dusty wall off in the corner and a few weeds poking out in between rocks.

I was a too shocked for words to respond to the situation at the current moment so I just took my time staring at the empty spot. I blinked once and then twice in a row before I made any moves to respond. I was absolutely amazed. Not even two minutes ago I was fretting on how to descend a right angled cliff that dropped off into fifty feet of infinity, and now I stood on solid ground. _Below_ any possible cliffs like I was here the whole time. I knew little to nothing about magic, but ask anybody off the street and they'd tell you that teleportation and illusions and what not weren't some simple feat. That guy knew what he was doing when he brought me there.

That posed another question about what just happened. I had been wandering aimlessly until I eventually arrived here. I came based on the provided hint from that Poe. I know it definitely pointed me somewhere around this direction. Was this what it wanted me to see? A creepy man who wanted to let me know I died? Maybe the Poe was somehow connected with the man? He had said he dealt with the undead. It wouldn't have been that far fetched of an idea.

Before I knew it I had found myself pacing back and forth again, racking my brain for answers, but unfortunately I was unable to piece together what I was supposed to do here. I had presumably meet the person in question, albeit strange, but he didn't provide me any particularly interesting information. I had come here following that freaky Poe on the assumption Aryll and Colin would be waiting here, but all I got instead was a conversation with an unknown stranger. I was an idiot for following that thing's directions. It had played me for a fool. I stomped my foot a bit harder when it came down to vent a bit of my irritation.

And that man. What he said was not only disturbing but utterly strange. He told me I had died, but that obviously couldn't have been the truth. I was still living. Period. Not to mention the fact he seemed awfully knowledgeable about my past events. I understood he was able to read minds to some extent, but I wasn't sure if his ability extended to reading memories. Such acts have long since been branded as a crime because people feared the intrusive acts. I was honestly surprised the guy had managed to avoid the guards for so long. Just who was that guy?

As I stared at the vacant spot, leaves of small shrubbery rustled in the wind, shimmering from the now present moon. Take out the disturbing circumstances and position, and it was actually a pleasant night. In this season nights were often too cold to leave the confines of shelter and not

shiver, but tonight's coolness was just right. Sadly I had no time to waste on enjoying the weather. As freaked out as I happened to be, my family was still out there.

If the man in purple provided me necessary information to locate them then I missed my chance because he was already gone. I was just going to have to wing it. But where to begin? I had exhausted all of my leads. I half-heartily wished the Poe would pop out again and direct me in some obscure direction. At least then I could calm myself by acting like I was doing something. Now I could only pace and contemplate where to go. In actuality, I was doing nothing.

I decided the only way I could go was back. My plan was that if I headed back to the school, then maybe they would have arrived by now. I already disposed of my sudden urge to wander about a giant city I don't even know half of, because by doing that I would no doubt end up in a worse situation than I already was in.

The road back appeared much long than it should have been. I hadn't originally walked that far to reach the Ghost Hunter's house, but while I was walking home, what was supposed to be a short walk felt like it took forever. It could have been because I kept checking behind my back every so many seconds because more often than not I felt the sudden need to be frozen in fear because of every soft rustle of grass that swayed from the wind. Or It could have possibly been because moments ago I was magically transported from some far off realm and I was suffering from some sort of magic-lag and everything felt like it happened in slow motion. Either way it left me scared and shaking. I wanted to get out of their so badly. Every little thing was sending me spikes of fear.

The streets themselves seemed to be devoid of any comforting life. At least if there were someone else here than I wouldn't have to hold in my fear alone, but everyone already picked up on how dreary the night had become and ran to their own safe havens. Maybe it wasn't just me that was freaked out by tonight. The old homeless man I thought I had spotted earlier now showed no signs of ever existing in that spot. No one poked their head out their windows to spy on the idiotic child who was meandering through bad parts of town. Everyone appeared to be safely locked away in whatever form of safety they could muster.

Had I missed something while I was away? I didn't believe time had passed that much while I was away. Everything seemed exactly how it was the five or so minutes I was gone. The cold wind still bit at my face, and the pebbles continuously shifted underneath my feet, a soft hum in the distance, so what had everyone hiding away even more so than before?

The hum however was starting to stand out. In the dead silence of the night it could be heard coherently. It wasn't words, just a constant jumble of syllables that escaped the night. Each second the noise appeared to close the distance between me and it. I stopped dead in my tracks. Hoping it wasn't what I thought it was.

But then I heard it. The piercing shriek that could be heard a mile away. The scream that could make the best of warriors cower in fear. It was an unmistakable noise. I could feel my bones rattle. It was a mystery how human vocals could even produce such a shrill sound, but maybe if you were dead that didn't apply anymore. After all, when I saw the ReDead round the corner I could barely call it human.

Its limbs were mangled into impossible positions. Flesh burnt to a crisp displayed charred and broken bones. Chipped and cracked, the bones and flesh rubbed together with every crooked step producing an absolutely disgusting sound that sounded like sloshing mud. The eyes were what scared me the most. Unlike the Poe's blazing red eyes, this walking corpse hosted black pits that led to the back of the skull. An endless pit of shadows. The eyes had been burnt to a charcoal black.

The smart move would have been to run. But I've already made so many _smart_ moves today, so it looked like common sense took an early retirement. I was glued to my spot and nothing else was on my mind other than the approaching ReDead. The corpse directed it's head at me. It looked like it was thinking about something, but its thought didn't last long and it went to tackle its prey. Me.

I grasped hold of my senses and spun around and ran. I could still hear its moans trailing after me, a deep terrifying moan. The terrible moan fueled my need to escape and I shot away as fast as my short legs could muster. The sound however wasn't fading as I sprinted through the rows of building. I was almost positive I could outrun a dead person, especially one whose legs looked as though they were going to crumble apart when met with any kind of pressure, but when I swiveled my head around slightly, the monster was right behind me.

It held its arms out in some grim resemblance to a hug as it leaned in closer and closer. I could smell the decaying flesh float up my nose in a harsh gush. I caught a glimpse of the Moon that rose behind it. I could have sworn it was laughing at me. I cursed at my current situation. Any second now and the ReDead was going to have my head. And I was totally incapable of defending myself!

The Moon's rays were blocked out as the monster encased my torso. The feeling of rotten flesh against my own had my food churning up. It was disgusting to say the least. My eyes were forced closed in a reflexive response and my body immediately tried to move to protect my head. I was extremely scared. This wasn't like going in a flash. Oh no. I was about to be eaten alive. And I didn't even have a chance to defend myself.

Moans continued to be emitted by the fearsome thing and I kept growing deeper into a state of despair. Now that I was faced with having to accept death I was starting to snap. I didn't want to die. Not now.

I let a howl and began kicking the ReDead away from my chest. With every kick I could feel rotting bones give way and crack each time under the pressure. On the third stomp I held my foot on it, pushing it and hopefully the ReDead away from my body. It was tough though. Prying this thing's disgusting appendages away from me was like trying to unscrew a bolt with my bare hands.

It screamed its terrifying voice smack at my face and I had to resist the urge not to recoil and cover my ears. My arms were tiring as I held it at arm's length away. I think I'd only last a few more seconds before something was going to start hurting soon. Namely me.

I rotated my strength to my right and rolled over in a rough, misshapen ball. The creature's hand slackened just enough during the tumble that I was able to pry myself away, the nails digging deep into my skin and leaving a nasty gash. Fortunately adrenaline was on my side and I didn't have to take the pain at the moment.

I rolled away, my body scraping against rocks and dirt. I pulled myself to my feet, panting in heavy patches. The ReDead gathered its bearings as well, and repositioned itself so it was standing. Its arms and legs were limp and wobbly. It looked like it shouldn't be able to move, but I knew it was fully capable of putting those weak looking limbs into fast action.

Without further hesitation I took off running down the road. I had had enough standing still, I needed to get away. Not two yards later another ReDead popped its head around the corner. My heart nearly skipped a beat when I almost ran into it, the only thing saving me from another one of those horrifying experiences was the fact it had let out its piercing cry and I fell in place on the floor to cover my ears.

This night absolutely stank. I wanted to return home so badly and just fall asleep by my family, not get eaten alive on the streets.

I released my ringing ears and looked up at the looming corpse. It had ceased its cry and was standing completely still. The remains of its unburnt left eye never leaving my line of sight. It started to moan in a soft, almost melodic way. The way a mother would sing to a child only distorted in a way that made me even more afraid than the previous aggressive one.

What once must have been female had its hair singed to a short fuzz and like the one before, the skin sported inhuman burns and gashes. Tattered clothing remained glued to the sickly body, covering what it could. The only thing that was out of place was a rouge hunk of steel that protruded through its gut. It was coated in deep layer of crimson, and through the dirtied coat I caught glimpses of a well polished blade.

The she-corpse issued a unintelligible groan and slumped to its knees as the blade retracted itself from the body, sloshing noises issued in the process. It was odd, I was in a crouch when the thing fell. It didn't move toward its wound. It just held itself on its knees issuing its low, guttural moans. When I looked into its one eye it looked almost sad. I wondered briefly if those of the dead could cry.

The owner of the crimson blade was a man of the guard. He wore a helmet that resembled the Gauy

I scrambled to my feet. The crimson blade slowly sheathed itself with a metallic shing. The wound was located directly where the heart would be. I expected blood to start pouring out from inside the wound, but no sticky liquid came from inside, only a black, stationed hole stood in its place. The beast tilted its head at me and seemed to peer at me, tilting in a calculating manner. A soft moan issued from its mouth. It wasn't dead, it was nearly impossible to defeat a ReDead with such a simple blow but the creature was definitely wounded.

I couldn't help but feel a bit sad for the creature when its pitiful form had its head ruthlessly decapitated by the owner of the crimson blade. The man in front of me let out grunt as he executed his task. Not hesitating one bit about the human resemblance the thing possessed. It might have tried to eat my brains out, but I still seemed to posses some moral issues about slaughtering something that held such a strong resemblance to mankind.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and tilted my head up at the man who stood before me. I couldn't believe my eyes. The man who had saved my life was the same man from earlier who chased me around town. The same Guay helmet with its beady eyes staring at me like it was going to come alive at any moment and peck out my eyes along with its owner who would probably do the exact same thing. Except with a blade and more of a killing intent. He looked like he was about to say something relatively normal until our eyes met, and his calm looked shifted into that of a scowl.

Footsteps resounded from behind us and one of his comrades came charging out. Obviously out of breath, the younger guard held his sword in position for attack, but when he sensed no immediate danger he relaxed his guard.

"Captain," he called out. Said captain did not turn to face his subordinate, and only gave a glance that likely only I noticed and grunted. His eyes never left mine after that. I wanted to turn away, but felt scared of the consequences. The young man didn't seem fazed and continued talking, "Captain, are you alright?"

He shifted around, looking a bit awkward after receiving no response. I saw him take notice of the 'deader' corpse and shuffle away a bit more. The captain took this moment to command the young man to transport this corpse and the one behind us back to the cart.

"Y-yes. Yes sir, right way," he bent down and just looked at the slump of flesh to figure out the best way of going about carrying it. He let out a sigh and with one hand picked up the severed head and placed the limp arm over his shoulder like he was carrying an injured man, "What of the boy sir? Does he need medical attention?"

"No," he replied. The face he showed me had turned from scowling to a sardonic grin. I didn't like where this was going, "He'll be coming with us anyway."

That was the last substantial thing I remember before he reached down and grabbed the back of my collar as I tried to escape and slammed the hilt of his bloodied weapon down the back of my skull. His companion was a bit shocked to see his superior doing something so violent. So its just me? Wonder why he hates my guts so much? I don't even know his name.

That was it before my sight faded to black. How long will it be this time? I thought snidely.

*Δ*

When I regained consciousness, I was bouncing up and down and not all too comfortably either. I had a nasty headache at the back of my head and riding a horse just increased my misery. There was also a warmth at my back I assumed was human and a pulling around my wrists, ankles, and something plugging my mouth. I opened my eyes. It was still dark out with the moon still located

high in the sky. Men on horses with swords holstered to their sides and backs were spread out in a protected circle surrounding a sealed steel cart. Soft moans echoed from inside the cart and I easily connected it to today's recent attack. These were the men whose orders were to discard the remains of the ReDead before they become Poes or wandered around the town wreaking havoc, and at the head of the makeshift circle was The Captain.

I was sitting on a bay horse side saddle with the rider's arm wrapped around me while he steered the animal with the other. The clacking of the horse's hooves made monotonous music in the dreary night. I tried to speak, maybe ask them to let me go, but my effort only came out as a muffled mumble. The man noticed my attempts and looked down anyway. It wasn't for long though because soon he returned his gaze to what lay in front of him, but it was long enough for me to tell that this young man's wide face was the same one as earlier.

He shifted, obviously affected by this awkward situation before he commented, "You must have done something _really_ stupid to piss off the captain like that. He's usually very level headed."

Pft, no kidding. I'd like to know as well.

He looked like he was expecting an answer and waited through the awkward silence before he realized I couldn't speak.

I looked around at my surroundings and was surprised to note we were only a few minutes away from our rundown school. We were traveling up an old cacti infested hill route. I knew there was a small ditch up in the bend ahead where I could likely use the bump in the road to help me escape, but with my hands and feet both tied I'd just lop off the horse in an ugly worm manifestation. Not to mention I'd probably receive another throbbing bump in the back of my head when they caught me again.

I needed to find a way out.

I stayed quiet the majority of trip, probably with an eternal scowl plastered on my face. I twiddled with the rope around my wrist the entire time, but no matter what I did the the devilish invention wouldn't remove itself.

"So..." the guy started up again, "uh. What were you doing out there? A kid like you shouldn't be in a place like that," I didn't turn around at the start of the conversation and just stared at the bland rode in front of the glossy horse. It looked very well taken care of. Benefits of being part of one of the few jobs that paid well I guess, " Right. Can't talk," I groaned, irritated. You didn't notice the first time?

"I uh...I'm Pierre..." the guy sounded like he was forcing this conversation. I guess I wasn't really giving him much to go off of anyway. I still didn't feel like turning around. I wasn't really in the mood for charades, "After we dump the uh, bodies we'll be taking you back and then after that you'll be put in a cell until the captain decides what he wants to do with you."

I couldn't help but turn around at that one. I knew they were guards and all and their captain seemed to have some personal vendetta against me so I'm honestly not sure what I was expecting when I woke up here. I guess I hoped it wouldn't actually be so serious that they'd throw me in a cell. Guess I'm just not that lucky.

When I turned around the guy seemed a bit taken aback, like he'd just been offered candy from the king himself. He didn't stay that way for long though and he quickly reverted his line of sight back on the bumpy road. I did the same. This guy, Pierre, had a calm nature about him that made me think he didn't turn back because he was shocked of my actions. It looked more like he recognized me then realized he'd made a mistake and turned back.

We were headed to the cliff headed into the graveyard. Pierre kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the trip and I kept looking at the ground coated in rocks and shrubbery, hoping I'd find something sharp to cut these bindings. The ground only hosted dull remains of garbage that wouldn't do anything for me except scratch my face when I fell off the mount.

The horse's hooves clattered against the road and the moans inside the metal cart increased one by one ever more frequently as we rounded the flat of the hill. So far I noticed no opportunities to escape. The only sharp objects in reach were those held in Pierre's sheaths. A long sword sat by his thigh, bouncing to the rhythm of the horse's slow trot and a smaller dagger held fast to his right thigh, both ready for easy access. I couldn't reach either now but those would have to be my way out. Once he dismounted I would have a chance to snag the smaller blade and cut myself loose.

I would have to wait a few minutes before I could execute that plan though because we've only just arrived near my home. The broken windows glistened in the pale moon light, and through the holes I could see the inside of darkened corridors. This side of the building was the side we normally never used, so it took me by surprise when I thought I spotted a pair of eyes gleaming back at me through the darkness, but as soon as I blinked the ghastly eyes dissipated into the shadows.

I must've really wanted to be home. I was even imagining people there. Just seeing the building made me homesick. So close and yet so far away. I wanted to be with Aryll and Colin so badly right now, but not only did I not know their location, I couldn't even go to them because I was strapped in bindings on horseback. I wouldn't cry though. There was no need for tears. I wasn't about to mourn for something I hadn't officially lost yet.

...

I was seriously glad when the horses were "whoaed" to a stop. My butt was going to have serious sores when I got out of this mess. I was positive I wasn't sitting properly in that saddle the entire time and all I did was bounce up and down, barely being kept upright. Each landing producing another pained bump on my rear end.

The man behind me slowed the horse down to a stop and began to dismount along with the other men. Pierre appeared completely oblivious as I successfully snagged his dagger from the leather sheath. I did my best to synchronize my pulling and his moving without looking to blatantly obvious. With a fluid motion I tucked to blade up my sleeve and waited for my moment, silently sawing away at the rope.

One by one the men gathered in front of the iron cart, each man with their own duties. Two men grabbed the leather coated handle bars, and with the help of the pull horses, they rotated the box so it faced the side of the cliff. Their captain stood mounted on his steed a few yards from the opening, watching the scene with an iron gaze. He glanced up at me once when I was gnawing away at my bindings with the stolen blade, but I don't think he noticed when I abruptly stopped because he turned around and faced his subordinates again. He didn't even need to give orders; his men knew what to do like the instructions were ingrained on the back of their hands.

The men on either side grabbed hold of a thick wooden plank which acted as a sturdy lock, and with a huff they lifted it and not a second later dropped the heavy thing with a plunk. They then backed up and were replaced with four men holding large body-length shields guarded by glistening swords. The heavy doors opened with a squeak and a few bodies flopped out topped by a few that crawled their way to their knees in a choppy motion. Two stood on their feet, wide awake, taking in the situation with whatever senses their had left.

One had a gaping slice cutting through its skull and the other stared at its surroundings with empty holes. I recognized the blind one as the ReDead who chased me all over and scared me beyond belief. So that's what happened after I blacked out, they had put it back in its cage after dealing with the threat. Then their captain must've saw it fit to take me on as luggage.

Well, he was going to be disappointed because I wasn't staying another second. I had the binding cut off now and I slid them down silently onto the floor. The group was facing the quivering pile of carcasses, and men with tower like shields shoved at the standing beings until they were close enough to shove off the ledge. From there the remainder of troops dug in, each lugging a body toward the edge to be kicked off. No one said anything and each man wore stoic faces, revealing nothing about how they felt. Pierre too carried bodies over to the ledge, one after another. Their captain just sat mounted on his hours and watched. Eyes never pealing from the scene. Every now and then his face would fall into a scowl but he'd erase it as quickly as it came like he couldn't bother to be distracted with such creatures.

That suited me just fine. If no one looked my way for the next few minutes then I'd be in the clear. They just had to do their own jobs, and I'd be able to slip quietly away before someone needed to file a report.

But as I slid off the mare my luck turned sour and I landed on a crinkly old branch. It broke almost instantly under my weight. I recoiled slightly at the noise breaking the silence of the night. It was just loud enough to catch the attention of the nearest officer. The captain.

He reacted as soon as he spotted me, letting out a loud command to stop. I didn't listen. I had been reacting too slow all day, now was my time to make up for it. I hit the ground running, sprinting off in the direction of my home. I heard the thumping of horse hooves behind my trail. I knew the terrain well enough though. I had the advantage, horse or no.

Their captain shouted out a few words ordering, one of his men to help his pursuit. The clattering of hooves increased by one. It didn't matter though. Where I planned on going wasn't a place horses could follow.

I pumped my legs as fast as they could take me, trying my damned best to outrun an animal bred to catch criminals. They were almost on me when I rounded a large boulder. At the base of the stone was a slim entrance leading into a mini cave like structure that ran for a few yards back and forth here and there. Without looking behind I slid into the hole. Roots and dirt brushed against my skin and I saw a few bugs scurry away before and earthly darkness engulfed my vision.

I stop skidding when I felt earth brush against my toes and the ground leveled out to a relatively flat terrain. With my breathing frantic, I turned to face the stream of faded light seeping through the narrow crack. Nothing but silence and my own sporadic breathing surrounded me now. In front and I could make out the dust particles floating in the light. Well, I couldn't actually see behind me because it was pitch black. But I knew from previous experience that it narrowed off into a passage that gradually sloped back up ground.

I didn't move from my spot. I thought maybe if I moved even the slightest bit then they'd discover my location and pry me from my hole in the ground. A minute passed before I brought up the courage to shuffle a bit under the entrance. It was deftly quiet out there. Besides the murmur of a cricket, there were no human sounds made

Surely they wouldn't just leave like that? They chased me all this way, they wouldn't just give up on me like that. Especially not that captain of theirs. What was he planning?

I craned my neck to peek up the slender hole. No men on horses peaked through the opening. Nothing but that laughing moon gazed back at me in the night. Truly it was a completely normal looking night.

They must've given up after not being able to find me. However, I doubted that guy really give up so easily. He seemed like the guy who'd chase me to the edge of the Great Bay.

I waited an extra minute just to be sure they weren't actually hiding above the hole or anything before I scurried off into the deeper end of the tunnel. It didn't feel right, but if I stayed any longer they might find my hiding spot. Hopefully they were both just numbskulls and left to go do their actual job instead of bothering me.

As I progressed further into the tunnel the light from behind me gradually faded into the darkness until there was no clear distinction between shadow and ground. I was left to blindly traverse the narrow passage. It wasn't that bad though. I knew where the exit was, it was only about another two minutes or so before I reached the end and I didn't have to worry about wrong turns or anything because all of the branching passageways were too small for me to squeeze into.

My hands were spread out in front of me, rubbing across any surface they could grasp in between their grip and my eyes were wide, trying to capture the next to nothing feeble amount of light that traveled along with me. Even when my eyes adjusted the most I could identify was a long cylindrical shape I came to identify as my arm.

The tunnel was silent, in a serene and earthy kind of way. The kind of silence you only get when you're in the midst of nature that just makes you want to sit down in it and take a nice long nap. It was almost tempting too. I wouldn't mind taking a nap right here in the moist dirt. Avoiding the fact that when I woke up there'd be an ant's and scorpion's nest nestled somewhere in my matted dirty blond hair, and that the complete darkness in here would probably drive me insane after a few hours. But other than that, it felt safe. None of the adults outside would ever be able to enter, both entrances were too small for the average size adult to come in through, and there'd be no ReDead moaning through the walls here, I was way too far from the graveyard for any of that. I felt like nothing could hurt me here. I didn't have to worry about anything down here. But even as I thought that, the gnawing feeling in my chest returned and I thought of Aryll and Colin. They were waiting for me to find them. I couldn't be held back here because of some flimsy whims.

I crawled on a little faster, seeing the exit light appear sooner than I expected. It took a second to a adapt my eyes to the sudden growing light. Although it was still night it was a big difference from going from nothing. The exit I arrived at wasn't placed as high as the other one and I could easily climb my way out.

I leaned my body against a comfortable nook in the wall and poked my head out the opening. My eyes were met with nothing but nature. dust, dirt and a few shrubs now and then, and a darkened city in the distance. A cool breeze swept across my head as I silently enjoyed the fresh night air. In that moment I felt completely relaxed and was even able to forget about what I was supposed to be doing for a few moments so I was able to savour the moment without worries nagging at the back of my head.

I decided it was safe and that I'd make a run for my home just some yards away. I hoisted my body up, arms sprawled into front to create balance. About halfway through the process the ordeal suddenly became a whole lot easier. As in no effort at all. But my joy was quickly squashed when I discovered why.

Holding tight to the back of my shirt was the same burly man who had chased me all around town, and apparently through a hole.

I stared wide-eyed in disbelief. How had he followed me? I was nearly positive there was no one out there. Not a single peep was made that sounded remotely human. Yet here he was, a chunk of shirt held tightly between his massive palm and a disgusted frown that threatened to overtake his face. His subordinate stood beside him, obviously unsure what he should be doing. Their horses left grazing in a far way plot of drying grass, behind where I presumably checked. That was my downfall, I got too worked up and let myself lose track of situation and failed to fully check my surroundings. Damn it all.

I flailed about in the man's strong grip, hoping he'd drop me and I'd be able to make a run for it, but he didn't relent and instead used his other hand to grip the collar of my shirt, forcing me to face his ugly mug. My feet were still squirming in the three seconds it required for him to decide my fate. He didn't think twice when he threw me into his subordinate's arms, ushering a quick command, "This time, he doesn't escape," you couldn't exactly call it a command, but the way he said it had the hint of an order to it.

He responded with a simple, "Yes sir," he almost dropped me while trying to get a grip on me. Almost. But at the last second he managed to secure me in a bear hug, feet lifted off the ground and my arms pressed tight to my sides, wiggling and squirming as best as they could. He seemed to be having a tough time keeping me contained. I even attempted to bite him arm, but that was a futile attempt because it was coated in a thick leather bracer. All I tasted was dirt and a slight tinge of fuzz in that mouthful, and I quickly gave up biting. I wasn't about to relent on kicking and squirming though.

The captain turned to look at us, probably seeing a tall man in polished guard armor that sported the Ikana insignia on its top layered shawl. The symbol of strength, the sun. An unbeatable force only second to the gods. Wrestling with a kid in mangled clothes half his size. He must've looked like an idiot. Good for him. Beneath the captain's glaring eyes I could just imagine him insulted at his soldier's incompetence.

"Use any means necessary. Just keep him alive. I'll be the one to deal with him."

He seemed a little taken aback by ominous command, but quickly replied with a stuttered 'yes sir'. It didn't even take him a minute late to catch the hint, "Kid, I'll give you one warning before I knock you out cold," was I stupid? "Take it or leave it kid," no. But that didn't mean I was smart all the time. So I chose not to give up. Call me stubborn but I wasn't about to hand myself a free ticket to jail, "You asked for it," he gave me a quick whack to the back of the head before everything went black.

*Δ*

When I woke up I was situated in cold stone room, walls on my left and right and bars in front. Once again, I found my hands bound in a scratching cord, this time behind my back, and my feet held the same sort bindings. I woke up feeling like the world was spinning and cogs and gears were grinding their way through the slush of my brain. I was disoriented. The floor was cold against my cheek bones and provided absolutely no back support when sleeping. How many times had I been hit in the head to day I solemnly wondered. By now I must be able to crush bricks with my thick skull.

Moaning, I wiggled up to rest my body against the cooling bars. The back of my head caught a sudden notion of pain as I sat up and I immediately started panting. Short breaths seemingly helping ease the sudden burst of pain. The emptiness in my chest still seemed as present as ever even after I've slept for a few hours. I wondered if it was permanent now.

I sat huffing like that for a few minutes before I regained my composure and looked out through the steel bars. Four cell faced opposite me, all of them empty. I could only assume the remainder of cells on my side were in the same situation.

Further down on my right was what appeared to be the entrance of this whole contraption. A wooden door smack between adobe bricks topped by two Giants masks lining the strip of wall right before it met ceiling. Each mask was a different color. While one was a deep cobalt blue, another was grass green on the other end of the wall. Both wooden masks had the face of a carved Giant on it. Large nose, hollow eyes, scruffy beard. Yeah it was all there, except maybe the gods themselves.

In front of it all was the same man who got me in this quagmire. Every now and then he'd look up from his small, flute like carving to scowl at me and then return to whittling it. He could have been up the entire night, sitting at his lonely island table, but all I could think about was when he was going to leave. Even if the keys magically appeared out of nowhere, there was no way I was going to make it out of the front door with that grizzly watching me like a hawk.

Speaking of keys, it was rather irritating. On a line of ten spokes that spurted out of the wall,each one had a silver key hanging off of it. And in plain sight too. It was frustrating to see my means of escape so clearly yet so impossible. I laid by the bars with my cheek pressed up against the metal. The captain must have noticed my seething gaze because he took a quick glance in my general direction, realizing my anxiety and chuckling to himself quietly. I remained still, silently fuming. I was going to get out, and he was going to be the first one to realize he was an idiot for taking me.

Our little game of sit and watch continued into the morning. My eyes were drooping, and I probably needed sleep more so than I believed, but I didn't trust myself to sleep at a time like this. Who knows, when I wake up I could be finding myself bound to some merchant's wagon who, somewhere along the way, I might've stolen a loaf of bread or two from.

There was no way I was going to break out of these bars by myself. These thing were built to keep the brutes at bay, there was no way a child's strength was going to cut it. Through my eyes the only possibility of escape was during the transfer or during whatever process I would be headed to after the cell door opened. I would have to wait, and that meant no sleeping.

The sad part was my captor didn't look the least bit tired. He had some sort of amazing drive that unfortunately kept him from screwing up on his carving and impaling his hand with his whittling knife. Not to mention have the nerve to laugh at me at the same time.

I felt tempted to make faces at his insults but that'd just provoke him. Instead I just stared at the cell in front of me with an apathetic face every time he looked my way.

I heard the clock tick every second. Every minute. Next time I looked an hour had flown by. It was almost five and the sun would be rising before the next hour. Despite the fact it was practically morning already I felt my eyes growing extremely heavy. The only thing keeping me awake now was the oddest thing ever.

The Poe came back.

For the last five minutes I've been watching him attempt to pick a heavy steel blade that hung next to the door. The thing was mainly used for decoration and thus had dulled edges, but anything that heavy would still pack a punch.

When it first came in I was shocked. Scared to say the least. I never expected to see it again so soon. At this point I didn't even care about my little misadventure in the alleys. That wasn't what was on my mind. I didn't know what to think of the situation. I wasn't sure whether I should alert the guard or maybe just silently hope it'd beat the crap at of him. My previous encounter suggested it wasn't aggressive. Not in the least. The way it acted with me was how someone would act with a frightened animal, not a ruthless murderer, but trying to accept that was though. I grew up fearing creatures like this.

What was I supposed to think?

I didn't move in my cage, only my eyes went wide with surprise. The captain didn't take any notice of it's entrance or my sudden expression. It moved across the floor in a silent fluid motion. Stopping to hover in front of the blade. It didn't look at me or the captain but it had a precise mission it wanted to complete.

Its first attempts were pure failure. When it reached its shadowy hand toward it, it phased through the hilt with not a hint of tangibility in it. It tried a few more times and it wasn't until the fifth or so it looked like it was irritated. It held its hand out in front, squeezing the fingers and then loosening them like it was getting ready to punch something. I hoped it wouldn't be me. It released its frustrated grip to let its arms hang loose at its sides before attempting to grab the sword again. Slowly it wrapped its smoky hands around the hilt, doing its best to feel the leather wrap. Its best wasn't enough though because its hand went straight through the grip.

It obviously wasn't pleased with its advances because right afterwards its hand scrunched up into a tight ball, but this time it didn't relax and sent its pent up anger at the sword through a fist. Unlike all of its other attempts the punch connected with a solid clang. The entire night had been deathly silent and the sudden sound sent me jumping. The same reaction occurred to the captain. He noticeably jumped in his seat and immediately jumped out of it and spun around to face the noise.

Just seconds after, the Poe had taken the hint and vanished into the night leaving only a steel blade that crashed to the floor. The captain cursed and walked over to it, bent down, picked it up, and repositioned it in its decorative wall spot. All the while mumbling something about stupid trainees. He sat back down and re-began his whittling, not even considering the possibility a Poe had snuck in his midst and knocked over his decorative sword.

Not even a minute later the Poe came floating back in, glancing at the captain for only a moment before going for the sword. I sat back and watched the whole thing wordlessly, as the Poe with new found confidence grabbed the blade and hoisted it up without a sound. And as it continued to carry it over to the captain. And even as it proceeded to lift the thing, hilt first and slam it down on the man's bare neck. He went down in seconds, the large man creating a loud thud as he fell out of his chair and onto the floor.

It waited no longer than a second to look at its fallen prey before dropping the sword in a disgusted manner and proceeding to the wall of keys. Its hand hovered over each individual slice of metal, pondering which it should take. It turned its head over here. Blazing red eyes held squinted in thought. I turned my away with a speed I didn't know I possessed. It was looking for my key. It was going to come after me next.

I backed away from the cell door as best as I could, ignoring my grogginess and clambering to my feet. Nausea threatened to swell in my mind but I pushed it away. I looked at my surroundings. A rough straw mat laid thrown to the side with a latrine bucket placed in the corner farthest. If it came down to it I hoped I wouldn't have to go for the bucket. I waited silently by the back wall. Waiting for what though I wasn't sure. Death? Escape?

When it came into sight I tensed in my corner, folding in on myself to look as small a target as possible. In its hand it held a silver key nearly identical to its twins on the wall. Its eyes fixed on to keyhole. Now was my chance. While it was focused on the lock I uncurled myself and dove for the latrine bucket. As the cell door slid open I threw the bucket at my target, the remaining innards spilling out at its unexpecting victim. The silver key fell to the floor with a clang and the bucket of disgustingness not far behind.

The Poe crossed its arms in front of its face in a reflex to protect itself but it wasn't even needed. By the time the bucket had been nearing contact it must have begun to dissipate because when I looked at it again through nervous eyes, not a single spec of remains stained the feathery black being, and the last thing I saw was its blazing eyes looking apathetic as it faded into the shadows.

Nothing could stop me from and the exit now, and so I took off running over spilled excrements. Down the hallway I ran, stopping a second to pity the unconscious man strewn across the flower, but not bothering any longer to wonder when the Poe was going to reappear. The cell door laid open behind me. The keys for the door on the floor. The keys that allowed me to escape. Whether it was a lucky coincidence they allowed me to get out of a sticky situation without much of a hassle on my end or no, in a sense I owed my thanks to the Poe who was probably trying to eat my face off for whatever revenge set motive it lived on. Too bad it would never understand. Or the person it once was for that matter.

Swiftly I shut the squeaky door behind me. The sun barely peeked over the roofs of the settlement but it dyed the sky a soft lavender that grew stronger in the east. Everything was cast with light shadows and a soft glow surrounding them. I would have taken the time to bask in the morning glory if I had not been so hard pressed for time. Within the hour more guards would be arriving here to take on their assignments and I definitely did not want to be there when they found their captain lying on the floor out cold.

Problem was, I was lost. I had never been this far into the upper districts. It was no wonder everything looked all good and sparkly in the morning. These people had the money to make their buildings look that way. With new paint blaring off the walls in bright, fluorescent colors. You could almost sense the liveliness that emanated off the walls and geometric paintings. Compared to my little dump of a suburb, these people had it good. It irritated me that while this part had so much money flowing out from it, they did nothing to help the lower classes.

I saw the early birds walking along the streets, getting to wherever they needed to be and I already felt like I didn't fit it. These folk wore much more fashionable clothes with relatively fancy patterns that marked their status. I was out of place with my simple, threadbare, unfitting clothes. If I walked through the main streets like this it sure was going to be obvious where I went when the guards come out looking for me. There had to be a better, more furtive way to get back to home.

Sadly I think somewhere deep in my heart. WAY deep. I knew were one was.

It had followed me. The creature that seemed to be encased in shadows, red eyes and all, was there at the corner of the building. Its hand beckoning me in a back and forth motion.

I swung my head to look all directions down the cobble street. The few pedestrians who were up and about at this early hour continued on with their oblivious life. No one had noticed the Poe hiding behind the building yet. I was on my own.

I was about to turn tail and run when I felt a tug at my sleeve. I didn't want to turn around, because I didn't want to confirm my hypothesis about it. Although it was quite hard to ignore the blatantly obvious fact. There was only one possible identification of my pester, and that was what made it scary. In the back of my head knew I what it was. It was that damn Poe who was beckoning me to come follow it like some no brainer. Well I wasn't just going to turn around and follow it. I was going to rip my sleeve away from the thing and go my own way. No Poe was going to distract me from finding Colin and Aryll.

The tug on my sleeve repositioned to encompass my wrist. It felt strange to have the being touching me. While I clearly felt the small grip of a child's hand, not so different from my own, at the same time it was like it wasn't even there. This thing was barely living.

When it tugged on my arm again I refused to face my perpetrator. I just knew the when I turned my head I was going to run away screaming. I just knew it. I didn't need anymore shocks for today. Thank you very much. The feathery touch of this things hand was creepy enough.

I was in a bit of an awkward situation though. This Poe had been haunting me ever since the explosions of yesterday for some obscure reason. Now I could run away and probably end up meeting in some other awkward situation, possibly even more life threatening than now, or I could stay perfectly shock still like I was now and hope someone notices and calls for someone who's _not_ in the guard. OR I could turn around and see what happens next. Why was that last one an option?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. On the count of three I would rip my arm free and run. I'd face the repercussions latter. Aryll and Colin needed me and that's all there was to it.

One. I clenched my fist into a tight ball and calmed my beating heart with a few deep breaths.

Two. I felt the feathery fingers shift on my arm. I tightened my running stance

Three. I opened my eyes and kicked out.

I stopped short in front of the Poe. I couldn't run now, it stood right in front of my path. We stood eye to eye, the same height. Its hand still clenched around my own, not in an aggressive manner, but firm. Its face was mere inches from my own. It was hard to tell, but the features of that face and its long pointed ears, reminded me of someone _very_ familiar. Did I actually know this guy before he died?

Before I had the chance to question my memory it grabbed my hand and began to drag me away, back in the direction it was beckoning from. I was too surprised to resist much at first. Clumsily I tried to regain my balance and run correctly behind it. I was very confused. Right now I was still half ready to jump away when it showed its darker side, but asking someone to follow wasn't all that dark. Was it? Was that all it was trying to do? Get me to follow it?

I didn't want to believe it. Not now, not when I've got so many other things to worry about. Why couldn't things be simple. Why couldn't this Poe be evil? Evil like I grew up believing. What made it change?

My arm was still being gripped. I looked down at the hold. It wasn't even that tight. I could escape if I wanted too. But I didn't. I didn't feel the need to run like I had before. Once I had looked at its face something had changed. What?

I bit my lip. I didn't know what to think. I looked to the back of the Poe. It looked confident, like nothing could get in its way. Funny. The only thing I can be confident about is my thieving ability, and I'm not even proud of that. I saw faint traces of clothing behind its mass of shadows. A plain shirt and pants. A bit hot for this season. The most obvious thing I could tell about the Poe was it was a boy around my age and height. But the big mystery I couldn't figure out was who was he and how did I know him?

Besides that, I didn't even know where I was going. We had made so many turns through dizzying back alleys and along main stress that I wasn't even sure where the sun was anymore. We came from the upper class portion of the city where the walls were bright and vibrant to an area that had a remembrance of the same happy area but in a more forgotten way. The streets an and walls weren't as well taken care of but still had money written all over them. Amazing how you could walk for twenty minutes and already find yourself in places you shouldn't be in. But I didn't get why we were there. The Poe seemed to have no incentive to stop anytime soon. It just briskly kept on floating and weaving itself around corners, dragging me along.

I guess I had silently decided I would put some trust in this being, at least enough to convince myself it wasn't going to eat me alive. But it was strange, following something I had believed was created from evil. I almost wanted it to eat me just so things wouldn't have to be so complicated. I hoped my rare amount of given trust wouldn't backfire. I rarely ever trusted strangers, let alone Poes. But I felt like this one had proven itself to me. The key back in the guard's place. That was its doing... It had helped me hadn't it? And all I did was throw a bucket at it...

I was caught off guard when the Poe abruptly stopped in front of me. We were situated at the corner next to a building with a red roof. The street was narrow and the only people located near us were identified by the soft muffling of honey whispered words. They were much too preoccupied with their rambling to notice the two shadows on the opposite end of the street.

I looked to the back of the leader of this operation. It had let go of my hand to face me.

I could run.

There was nothing holding me back...

Now was the best opportunity I would get, and yet I didn't take it, "What do you want?" I asked it. Starring around its head trying to avoid its eyes. No one might be able to notice a black shadow on black but those eyes were going to give it away.

It didn't answer. I didn't even think it could. I've never heard of a Poe that could make coherent speech, but maybe this one will prove me wrong.

Like the time when we first met it held out an arm, pointing to a closed up shop, two buildings down from the tanned couple, one with a curved blade holstered around their waist. The windows were boarded up and the door had a big chain lock strung around it. The place looked like it had not been used for years. While the buildings around it weren't in better conditions, they at least had a feeling of liveliness about them.

I looked back to confirm its choice. It only tugged my arm to indicate I should follow again. I had placed some trust in this mysterious figure so far and I haven't gotten hurt yet, but an empty shop was beyond suspicious,"Why?" I gestured to the building for clarification, "Why should I go?"

If a barely visible face could portray emotions than at least I wasn't crazy because this one looked as if I stated the stupidest thing ever. A disbelieving stare gazed back at me. It even re-gestured its point, albeit a bit more vehemently, telling me to go.

I didn't get it, why did this thing want me to go waltz into an abandoned warehouse like there was nothing wrong with it? I voiced my opinion, "Again. Why?" It just stared at me with an irritated expression and I heard a gasp somewhere, "Two times. You've asked me two times, to walk into the worst parts of towns. Why?"

It leaned back its head and let out an audible sigh. It went for my hand again but I held it back, "Why?" I asked a little bit louder this time.

Someone beat me to the punch though; in a masculine voice I heard the utterance of, "P-Poe! Shit man, I ain't stayin' here. Sorry woman but I-," we both whipped around to stare in shock at the forgotten couple. The man seemed utterly freaked at this notion because when he switched his gaze to stare the Poe straight in the eyes he flipped out and ran off screaming, leaving the woman yelling at him.

"HEY!" She yelled in a voice loud enough to be heard in the next three streets over, "Tch. Coward. Wasn't getting any anyway."

The woman with blazing red hair tied about in a high ponytail with bangs at the sides slammed her fist against the nearby building's wall, and without a trace of fear spun her head at us. She caught a glimpse of the Poe before it left me alone in a poof of dark smoke to deal with this raging woman.

She straightened her back and stared down at me from her full height. Her nose was long and pointed and she wore a beautiful garnet gem on her forehead that matched her scarlet wear. I hadn't seen someone like her around. I wondered where she was from. Perhaps she was one of those...what had they called themselves, Geldo? I've heard about.

"Boy," she snapped me out of my thoughts with her irritated voice, "Just now...were you-was that a Poe just now boy?" I didn't answer and she just kept firing questions, "Answer me boy. Were you, or were you not just talking to a Poe then?"

I didn't even need to answer for her to continue her accusations, "Hmm-Well then boy, do tell, what are you doing up at the crack of dawn, hmmn? Good little boys and girls like you should still be asleep. Unless...you're not so good," I didn't answer and remained silent, creeping back into the shadows a bit, "...Whatever. Listen boy, you scared off my date with your Poe friend there. That means you've got to pay. An eye for an eye as you men say.

I took off to run back the way I came, but the woman was faster and easily caught up to me. She positioned her curved blade at my neck, pulling my head back in a painful way. She leaned in closer, whispering in my ear, "Ah-ah-aah. You're coming with me. Boy."

* * *

**OK I feel like when I write this it's like I'm just putting pieces together (probably because I don't have a stable plot) But still..w/e... **

**So maybe some of you have noticed...he's really pathetic isn't he. Well who wouldn't be? Zombies come and invade your city I'd start freaking out to. Point being, in all LoZ, link is about as normal at normal gets. He builds courage throughout the story.( but really though, mine is kinda a turd)**

**IMPORTANT FYI- kinda. The undead in my story don't act quite like they do in the games. In the games they're just soulless minions created by Ganondorf or so. My zombies were created out of human and their souls. So if they don't come off as brainless monsters go figure. They were once people.**

**As I was reading I noticed something. Not one Zelda (as far as I can recall) has ever said, " Save yourself Link." No they don't go there. They expect link to save them T.T . Give us a Zelda that can kick her own butt Nintendo. And no, being able to shoot light arrows from a bow you STOLE from link, doesn't count. (When I played Wind Waker and I saw Tetra with the bow, I immediately checked my inventory and went, "WT*?! She stole my bow!")**

**When I first tried plotting this story, I wanted it to be steam punk. How far away it ended. What would you call this? I'm wanting it to be serious, but is it?**

**Has anyone noticed that since OOT and MM the instrument have gotten substantially... lamer? you have the WW baton. that's not even an instrument btw. then there's TP wolf's howling which sounds...um...it needs some work, and his horse reed which you really don't play. The pan pipe which was really pretty, and then there's SS's harp, which has potential but link...link...you don't even play the thing...u just string to a beat...although I think the wind waker would have been a really cool attempt with the Wii motion plus.**

**OK so, if anyone's done some research on Ikana they'll've probably found it was based a lot off of Aztec societies and such. I've done research, but I still don't know that much about them except that they were advanced and extremely...hardcore, let's go with that. However I grew up knowing more about European monarchy, so that's what I'm comfortable with. I'll be throwing in some Aztec stuff every now and then, but most of it will be medieval fantasy mix.**

**If you haven't checked out my drawing of this story please do. It features my Link and a Big Poe. art/Never-Turn-Your-Back-on-a-Poe-370885358**

**Thank you for reading. Any and all reviews are helpful and really give me motivation. Even flames are okay. Again if you wanna comment but not sure on what you can answer some of my questions I've set for you guys.**

**1) So, Zelda might appear in later chapters. Who do you think her role will be? Keep in mind she's not from Hyrule or anything like that. And again she'll be an OC Zelda.**

**2) So, does anyone actually like my character? He's kinda a...turd for better lack of a swear substitute, but do you-no? No you don't like him? He's just a turd? Let me know what you think.**

**3) Explain to me what you think the personality of the Poe is so far. I'd like to know if I've gotten anything across yet...**

**4) Give me your hypothesis on what/where w/e is happening to Colin and Aryll. Who knows, if I like your idea I might incorporate it.**

**All rights and stuff like that goes to their correct creators Nintendo (and everybody else)**


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